This July was not a hard one to say goodbye to. It had been a bad roller-coaster ride going from almost level to way, way down... Although I was not keeping a diary or a journal, I did write notes off and on and squirreled the pages away among my paper dolls and dress designs which I was sure were safe from snooping. Once I had a new notebook safely stashed as I mentioned earlier, I copied most of them into it and then went on as August began. I'll grab a few clips here and there and insert them in italics, some times with a date connected.
July 20: At least two small bits of knowledge lighten my heart. One is to know for sure tt was not my letter that brought Dusty on June 16. That one, misaddressed, came back to me finally. An answer to the re-sent letter has not come but that was because he was in the hospital. I learned yesterday he had been in LA in the hospital for about three weeks, Unfortunately that re-sent letter was probably intercepted by Blair, next down the seniority roster, who filled in as foreman for B&B 6.That was not good, not at all...
July 24: Yesterday the local was late, We went over in the twilight to see it leave. Waited in the caboose while while the units (2201-2202) went up to the plant. It was dark but I felt perfectly at home. Makes you wonder about reincarnation, predestination etc. I love trains, CDW notwithstanding. Lantz (the station agent) seems to take us for granted. As if we had a right to hang around...
It has been a busy week but the nicest I've had for a long while. I feel so much freer without the pressure, upsets, intolerance, lectures, blow-ups ad nauseum. Unless things change drastically I really can't stay on here after dad gets back, no matter what. But I shall do my best until then. One day at a time...
I did not specify exactly when but the Boss (aka dad) was gone for awhile. I'm sure he was over in the VA Hospital at Whipple. He was a hypochondriac, but really did have recurring problems with rectal-intestinal polyps. Of course they were always surely deadly cancer so we must all be very worried... I think it was a week or more this time and he did have surgery but never a colostomy or anything that major. While he was gone, Mom never told me anything to do or not do and the livestock management was totally left up to me. By now Charlie Mike worked with me like a true partner or helper. I counted on him without question. I have no memory of exactly when or how but one of the last jack burros died about this time. Pepper was such a mean and cantankerous son, I did not grieve. I think Charley Bryant helped me drag him up to the bone yard out at the pasture.
July 26: We went to Prescott today and brought the Boss home. No upsets so far--even about the scratched door or Pepper's death. Que milagrosa! Alex and I walked down to the depot and I got numbers on Gordon's B&B 3 and a yard full of freight cars. (Charlie Mike had collected can numbers almost forever.) Wonder if #6 has its regular foreman back yet? Maybe we'll see Earl or Thursday; Charlie Mike did not today.
July 29: #6 doesn't and we didn't I also got a very short scribbled note someone apparent mailed for Dusty --postmark blurred. but his writing. "Please do not write again for a long while." I thought a sharp oops then and knew I would not. It hit me that Blair had probably gotten that last letter, maybe even read it--quite unethically! Kind of oh crap. My $45 is in the bank and I now have $4.60 in change having bought this book, The rest is in 'cold storage' with no one knowing of it
I have no idea now where it came from but I had recently received $50, probably from my aunts, after they heard the college plans were at least initiated. They helped me pay PO box rent and urged I maintain a checking account. {An aside: Recently I have heard women could not do that alone until early 1970s but I had opened this one on my own back in the fall of 1965 when I was only 22 and definitely had no person cosign or authorize it. FWIW, eh? So there were exceptions for sure. Also the PO box was solely my effort and I obtained and paid.}
Well enough catch up here. By August there were journal entries again though not quite every day. Once more it was a roller coaster ride but there were starting to be a few actual highs and the lows were not quite rock bottom...
Pictures! To support my train fascination here are a couple of locomotives I pictured a bit later in Flagstaff. The two I mentioned above would have been similar but I think these were newer versions of the EMD "Geeps"(General Purpose). The ones in Clarkdale were GP-9s. The last is from my collection (not my shot) and shows the old 'zebra-stripe' paint job once used on ATSF freight locos. before they adopted the blue and yellow. It is a flat nose GP-9; some were and some not.
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