there are many trains, but none quite like the
mail passenger. fifty years ago it was probably the
most wonderful thing on earth, but those same
coaches aren't very comfortable anymore. worn,
rough upholstered seats have but a hint of softness
to them and torture your back with their stiffness.
had it not been for the two cheerful conductors,
the chicago-iowa city trip would have been
unbearable.
clutching our last quarters and suitcases, my
roommate and i boarded the rock island mail
passenger at 1:00 am, weary but knowing we had
enough money left to rent pillows in the train. we
curled up in the dimly-lit, dingy coach, waiting
for the conductor to come through with those
precious pillows. finally he came, but all he had
was a few wisecracks about our discomfort. he was
so amiable, it was hard to believe him when he told
us they didn't have any pillows. i don't remember
his reason, but it didn't seem at all logical. the
first conductor came through again with the second
one. who punched our tickets and chided us for
wanting pillows. "after all, " he said. "conductors
don't use them, and they ride every day !" "oh
sure, but we don't ride everyday, and that's why we
need them !"
we had wedged ourselves into seats facing each
other and were munching not so solemnly on dry soda
crackers, when our two conductors returned and
routed us from our "beds".
with a constant flow of teasing chatter and
playful rebuke for the nasty comments we made about
the train, they adjusted our seats so that we could
lie down half way comfortably. we fitfully rocked
and bounced our way across the illinois lowlands
through the wee hours of the easter morning, with
our two friends always there to chat with us
whenever we awoke. they seemed to be waiting, ready
to pounce, whenever we'd so much as lifted an
eyebrow. and much to my amazement, they served us
each a steaming cup of coffee and a fat
raisin-filled ginger cooky, sitting by to entertain
us while we ate. they had to know where we were
going, where we'd been and what we had done, and
where we were from. i had never realized that
conductors could be so sweet, but these two were so
friendly and generous, we could even feel more
tolerant about the dirty, pokey train. their reason
for giving us coffee was , they " just liked to
make things more comfortable," although we noticed
they didn't offer it to anyone else !
what a great sense of humor and love of people
those men must have, to be able to take all the
complaints about this train's peculiarities. just
as we reached the tri-cities at dawn, we sadly took
leave of our friends, knowing that train would not
be the same without them. by doing all they could
to make us comfortable and forget our tired bodies,
they surpassed the coldly efficient conductors on
the streamliners, to whom you are just one more
passenger, and part of a great machine.
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