Coal Train

       More Letters From Paradise
             Coal Train
Mary Jo was madder than hell. She was an old widow who lived close by the railroad that hauled coal cars up and over the mountain. One day Patsy, her cow wandered on to the tracks and was killed. That's why Mary Jo was mad. She felt that as the train killed Patsy,they should pay her for their  crime.

So she sent a letter to the offices of the railroad, which was brief but to the point. "Your train ran over my cow, and I expect you to pay me for it." A few days later she received a brief letter in reply. "Your cow was trespassing on railroad property. We are sorry that this happened, but we do not intend to pay you for your cow."

Now Mary Jo came from  long line of people who always refused to accept "no" as the proper answer.  So she decided to change their answer.

She had butchered a hog that fall, which resulted with a large crock full of lard. Late one night she heated some of the lard in a kettle, and armed with a pail of hot lard and her mop, she headed to the train tracks.

The following morning she sat on her porch finishing her coffee, awaiting the coming spectacular. The coal train was right on time, each car filled with tons of coal. She watched with glee as the engine strained, and its wheels whirled uselessly.

The drama continued to unfold as a hand car  pumped by two men rolled up to the stalled train. A discussion  was held with the engineer and the late comers. The hand car was pumped back down the tracks and disappeared. After some time it returned, this time full of men with shovels, and bags of sand.

Mary Jo continued to watch as the men spread sand on the rails. The engineer set the train in motion only to find that there was too much weight, and the train had to be reduced by a large number of cars. Then the front part of the train was able to climb over the mountain.

The railroad officials knew who the person was who had mopped the fat on the rails, but they also knew when they were whipped. They sent an official to Mary Jo to plead with her to stop mopping the tracks. He agreed to settle her claim. "Will a check be alright?," he asked. "Cash," Mary Jo replied.
                        8/28/14
        Aloha (true story)
        Grant