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Railroad Newsline for Saturday, December 23, 2006

Compiled by Larry W. Grant

In Memory of Rob Carlson, 1952 – 2006

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RAIL NEWS

TOWER 55 TIES UP TRAINS, ECONOMY

FORT WORTH, TX -- Under the web of freeways south of downtown Fort Worth, freight trains routinely sit idle, waiting to proceed through an intersection that has become one of the biggest transportation snarls in North Texas.

Delays at this railroad intersection, known as Tower 55, can be up to 90 minutes. With about 100 trains a day trying to cross Tower 55, trains are almost always waiting.

Local transportation officials say a solution to Tower 55 is imperative, and not just because the tie-up slows the eastward movement of foreign-made big-screen TVs and other consumer goods from ports in California – or delays the delivery of parts to the GM plant in Arlington.

"Solving Tower 55 is crucial to keeping this region from losing its economic competitiveness," said Mike Sims, a senior program manager for the North Central Texas Council of Governments. "But solving Tower 55 is also extremely important to improving air quality, safety and opening up new passenger rail routes."

The council of governments has launched a three-year, $2 million study of the crossing that could develop a quick-fix solution.

Establishing another commuter rail route between Dallas and Fort Worth is important, especially as area business and civic leaders seek to host a Super Bowl game in the new Dallas Cowboys stadium in Arlington.

Local leaders have announced their intention to bid for Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6, 2011.

"We need a better mass transit system to move people between Dallas and Fort Worth if we hope to land a Super Bowl," said Tarrant County Judge-elect Glen Whitley. "But we don't just need it to serve the stadium.

The Trinity Railway Express is the only commuter rail line now operating between Dallas and Fort Worth. The rail line is about five miles north of the new stadium.

Tower 55 is the intersection of railroad tracks operated by the BNSF Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad.

Local transportation planners and officials from both railroads support construction of either a bi-level intersection or a bypass around downtown Fort Worth.

Both solutions are expensive, officials said. The bypass is estimated to cost about $5.8 billion, while a new split intersection would cost from $150 million to $850 million.

"We hope the study will give us a true number in that range," Mr. Sims said.

The council of governments has a $1.6 million federal grant to help pay for the study, and other local participants – including the railroads – are chipping in.

Railroad officials said they expect to help pay for improvements to Tower 55 through a public-private partnership.

"Improving Tower 55 is a huge priority for us," said Joe Adams, an official for Union Pacific. "A capacity improvement for freight movement is in the national best interest as well as the region's." - Marice Richter, The Dallas Morning News

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BNSF UPDATED WINTER WEATHER DELAY ADVISORY FOR COLORADO

Although weather conditions have improved in and around Denver, Colorado, switching operations remain slow. The total accumulation in the metro Denver, CO area is near 30 inches. Combined with high winds it has caused a major interruption to BNSF Railway Company railroad operations throughout the state of Colorado.

The Denver Intermodal Facility which closed at 21:00 CT Wednesday, December 20, 2006, has re-opened at 18:00 CT Thursday, December 21, 2006. Crews continue removing snow in the Denver Yard to allow switching operations to begin. Weather conditions are expected to improve by Friday, December 22, 2006, but recovery will be slow as most side streets remain impassable. BNSF will continue to monitor the situation closely and advise as conditions improve.

For units patron notified at the Denver Intermodal Facility on or prior to Wednesday, December 20th, BNSF will provide two additional storage free days. Any questions regarding Intermodal storage free time, please contact the BNSF storage department at 1-888-428-2673 option 3, 3, 2.

Customers should anticipate delays between 24 and 72 hours on traffic moving through this region. - BNSF Service Advisory

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FARMER SEES NO BENEFIT TO ELECTRIC PLANT

Are residents of the High Plains willing to forfeit yet another large slice of the gifts of land, water, clean air and quality of life? If we are content to believe a vocal minority, the proposed coal fired electric generation plant near Holcomb, Kansas. will be the next best thing to sliced bread. Don't believe it for one minute.

These promoters are not required to "tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." As inhabitants of the High Plains, all we need to do is remain silent, forfeit our precious water in perpetuity, provide a small tract of land as a hiding place from society and look in the other direction. This will allow corporate pirates to reap billions of dollars in profits. Remember, corporations don't die, they continue on forever. They don't answer to society, they assume limited accountability for their actions, and pay very little in taxes.

As a western Kansas farmer, I am sick and tired of the colonization of rural America. We must take a stand. We cannot allow the continued exploitation of our natural resources, and the deterioration of our health and environment in the name of "economic development." If you are looking for the truth, follow the money. You will have to look hard, because the money isn't even passing through our neighborhood. The imported coal will be transported by an out of state railroad. The vast majority of the energy produced will be exported.

Over a fifty year period, Sunflower's cost of obtaining water rights will only amount to a sprinkling of dollars for every million gallons of depletion of a very precious resource. The major deposits in our state will be mercury and CO2, not cash. I do not see a coal fired power plant as a pillar upon which to build a future. Let's make sure this is not part of the legacy left to our children and grandchildren.

I recently saw a bumper sticker with a quote by Maggie Kuhn, "Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes." Contact your state representative, state senator and Governor Sebelius. Demand a moratorium on construction of new coal fired electric plants in the state. - Commentary, Tom Guessel, President, Pawnee County Farmers Union, Larned, KS, The High Plains Journal

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TRAIN DERAILMENT FORCES RESIDENTS TO EVACUATE

ST. JOESPH, MO -- Dozens of St. Joseph homes evacuated after a train left its tracks.

Tanks containing flammable liquid overturned only yards away from homes forcing Saint Joseph emergency crews in to action.

Saint Joseph Police go door to door evacuating residents who live only a few yards away from the train derailment.

The BNSF Railway Company train carrying approximately 30 thousand gallons of an alcohol liquid tipped over at around 08:00 Friday morning.

A woman taking her family to the shelter says she heard the loud noise. The tanks didn't leak, but St. Joseph emergency crews played it safe said Emergency Coordinator George Albert.

"The St. Joseph Fire Department will be on standby with the Air National Guard Fire units and the Police Department doing the evacuations," he said.

Jeff Parker has lived next to the railroad lines more than 20 years and says he noticed tipped trains but didn't think much of it.

"I didn't know what was in that, I thought it was something that derailed last night and hey waited till daylight to deal with it," he said.

Families were evacuated to the New Hope Four Square Church while crews worked to repair the damage.

Clean up crews will use giant cranes to lift the tanks right side up before they begin reconstructing the damaged rail road lines.

A cleanup crew was called from Kansas City.

"What they'll do is, they come in they'll pull-up the wheels, and then put the tankers back on the rails, and then they'll move them out," Parker said.

Four of the tanks are filled with a highly-flammable alcohol solution used for anti-freeze and cleaning, while a fifth car carried powdered soybeans, which posed no threat.

Emergency crews say although this incident is the first of its kind, everyone knew what to do.

The BNSF train was heading to Kansas City, Kansas from Omaha.

The cause of the derailment is still under investigation.

Crews worked for about five hours to clean up the mess. - KQTV-2, St. Joseph, MO

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WEATHER DELAYS FOR AMTRAK PASSENGERS

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Winter weather hampered holiday travelers at the airports, on the roads and on the rails Thursday.

At the Amtrak station in downtown Sacramento, dozens of passengers were stranded with bus and train delays through the Sierra.

For one couple, it took six hours to get from Reno to Sacramento. That meant they missed their connection to Modesto.

Most of the travelers KCRA 3 spoke with Thursday were trying to meet up with loved ones for the holidays. - KCRA-TV3, Sacramento, CA, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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TRAINS COLLIDE AT RIVERDALE, KANSAS

Two Union Pacific trains collided early this morning on the tracks at Riverdale, Kansas. but crews received only minor injuries.

The collision was reported at 02:00 in the 600 block of the North Union Pacific Railroad Tracks this morning.

Wellington, Kansas Fire Department Assistant Chief of Technical Services Bill Hellard said initial reports were of an accident involving two train engines, leading their emergency crews to believe some type of head-on collision had occurred.

However, Hellard said when crews arrived at the collision they found a less harrowing scene.

James Barnes, director of media information for the Union Pacific Railroad, said at 02:05 a southbound locomotive carrying a 59 car-load of rock swiped a northbound local train.

Both locomotives derailed in the incident, which Barnes said is still under investigation.
Barnes said one train had pulled to the side tracks to allow a second to pass, Hellard said, but it appeared the collision was caused when the trains passed too closely.

Sumner County Sheriff Deputy James Blunk also responded, and described the collision as opening up the trains “like a couple of tuna cans.”

Hellard said the engines were mostly involved in the wreck and that the cars behind each were not damaged due to the accident.

Hellard said crew members received only cuts and bruises in the collision.

Hellard said the diesel tank under one of the locomotives was punctured in the collision.

Barnes said Union Pacific HazMat crews were working at press time today to clean up a 1,000 gallon diesel fuel spill from the accident.

This was the only release of any type of chemical due to the collision, Barnes said.

Hellard said there was an empty LP gas tank and a car carrying de-naturalized alcohol, but neither were involved in the accident.

Barnes said this morning their crews would be “making sure to coordinate with the local authorities to make sure the area is secure and taking efforts to remedy the scene as quickly as possible.”

The impact was reported three-fourths of a mile from North 650th Avenue

Blunk said the trains were both approximately 2,000 feet long.

This morning, 60th and 70th avenues north were blocked by the wreckage.

Officials from the Union Pacific Railroad, their HazMat team, Butler and Sedgwick County officials, the Sumner County Sheriff's Department and Emergency Management, along with the Wellington Fire and EMS department, responded to the scene. - The Wellington Daily News

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STARVING CAMPER RESCUED BY SKUNK ENGINEER, PASSENGER

WILLITS, CA -- Too weak to walk, a starving man crawled and rolled his way through the redwoods to the Skunk Train railroad tracks, where he was saved by a passing Christmas Train.

John Harrington, who had been camping in the hills about seven miles west of Willits, was at least sixty pounds underweight, seeing double, and unable to hold himself upright. As if that weren't enough, he was outside, in the dark, and in near-freezing temperatures.

On Sunday, December 17, Harrington rolled down a hill to the tracks and lay in an adjacent gulley. There, he waved two flashlights in a cross-signal pattern, hoping a train would spot him. Skunk Train engineer Clint Watkins, running the Christmas Train special back to the Willits Depot, picked up the signal.

"At first, I thought the light was a reflection of the Christmas lights on our train," Watkins said.

The engineer, who is also an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician), managed to slow down several tons of rolling iron and steel in order to have a closer look. Discovering the source of the signal, he joined forces with a registered nurse among the passengers and lifted the emaciated man onto the train.

Realizing it would be dangerous to wait for a return to the Willits Depot, Watkins phoned for an ambulance that would meet the train at the next road crossing.

"They got him to the nearest road and rushed him to nearest hospital," reported Skunk Train President Chris Hart.

At Frank R. Howard Memorial Hospital, Harrington was treated for hypothermia and starvation."The emergency room doctors feel that that if it wasn't for the Christmas Train rolling by, Mr. Harrington may not have made it," said Anthony Stahl, the hospital's director of marketing. "This is a wonderful Christmas story! We're pleased as a hospital to be a small part of that story and Mr. Harrington's recovery. It could have ended tragically."

A photo by The Willits News here:

[extras.mnginteractive.com]

As of yesterday morning, Harrington was still hospitalized. After many days without eating, he's having trouble keeping his food down. He appears, however, to be recovering - and he's definitely able to speak. According to Stahl, he expressed gratitude for the Skunk Train and for "all those who are helping me."

Hart is proud that his train was there when it was and that the engineer behaved as he did.
Stahl points out the motto of the 75-year old hospital is "neighbors helping neighbors."

Reportedly, Harrington plans to return to the hills when he's back on his feet. Doctors are urging him to pack in a larger supply of food or to return to civilization more often. If all goes well, he'll be able to watch the train go by without putting out a call for help.

The passengers may or may not see Harrington, but they will see massive redwoods, dramatic hillclimbs, and the increasing light as the train exits a dark tunnel. Excursion runs on the 122-year old Skunk Train are considered among the ten best railroad trips in North America.

The Skunk is owned by Sierra Railroad Company of Davis, which also operates the Sierra Railroad Dinner Train and Sacramento RiverTrain. Sierra also has freight operations throughout Northern California and is involved in renewable energy projects. - Claudia Reed, The Willits News

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IN AVALANCHE DEBATE, PARK WANTS SNOWSHEDS, BNSF WANTS ARTILLERY

Photo by Pete Martinelli of the National Park Service here:

[www.whitefishpilot.com]

Photo caption reads: In February 1979, a large storm rolled into the Middle Fork drainage, dumping snow and creating numerous avalanches. One avalanche took out the U.S. Highway 2 bridge near the Goat Lick, which was built in 1930. In this aerial view, taken Feb. 15, 1979, looking west, avalanche debris covers two Burlington Northern Railroad sheds. To the left is Highway 2. This photograph was used on the cover of the Park's 2006 draft EIS on avalanche reduction.

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MT -- Glacier National Park's preference for shed-building over explosives to protect trains from avalanches along the Park's southern boundary has created a sharp debate between environmentalists, technical consultants and BNSF Railway.

Avalanches have long threatened rail and motor-vehicle traffic through the narrow canyon leading up to Marias Pass, but an incident on Jan. 28, 2004, led to the Park's drafting of an environmental impact statement.

An empty 119-car freight train, more than a mile long from end-to-end, was stopped by an avalanche in the John F. Stevens Canyon. As it sat, a second avalanche roared down from the Park, de-railing 15 cars in two places. A third avalanche narrowly missed clean-up crews, and a fourth hit a truck traveling on U.S. Highway 2.

East- and west-bound passenger service on Amtrak halted, and 70 miles of freight trains backed up on both sides of Marias Pass for 29 hours while rail crews dealt with the situation.

Shortly afterwards, BNSF contracted with David Hamre, founder of Alaska-based Chugach Adventure Guides, to analyze the avalanche hazard in the canyon. Hamre does consulting work for the Alaska Railway. At the same time, the U.S. Geological Survey's field station in Glacier Park took a look at the avalanche problem in the canyon.

Much has changed since the Great Northern Railway first started building snowsheds nearly a century ago. Forest fires had wiped out the trees that anchored snow to the steep slopes. Since then, trees have grown back, shifting avalanche paths to new areas.

Hamre found that existing snowsheds only partially protected trains in seven avalanche paths because the paths widened over time. Snowsheds were missing in five other avalanche paths, and two pathways were determined not to be a significant hazard to rail traffic.

BNSF next instituted an avalanche awareness program, including forecasting, rescue training and weather data collection. After determining that the safety measures were not enough, the company requested a permanent special-use permit from the Park for the use of explosives -- including military artillery -- to reduce the avalanche hazard.

The alternatives

The Park's draft EIS on the special-use permit request came up with four alternatives. The preferred alternative called for construction of five new snowsheds, about 3,540 feet long altogether, and lengthening seven existing snowsheds by a total of 1,500 feet.

Based on BNSF construction cost estimates, Alternative B would cost the railroad about $5.4 million a year over 50 years. No explosives would be allowed -- even to protect the sheds while they were under construction.

The railroad's preferred alternative would allow use of explosives during up to three events a year. Artillery, blaster boxes, Avalhex-type systems, helicopter delivery, Avalauncher and hand-charges would all be allowed. Because of the thick fog that typically accompanies big storms, artillery is more effective than helicopters, which are grounded.

Not doing anything could cost BNSF as much as $2 million a year, the draft EIS states, based on an average of 7.1 hours of delay per year averaged over 28 years.

The Park cited impacts to wildlife and wilderness as why they chose snowshed construction over explosives.

"Sporadic disturbance from explosive use would have a wide range of impacts on wildlife and threatened or endangered species," the draft EIS states. Explosive use would also impact on "the natural quiet of wilderness," it states, and unexploded ordnance would be present in areas recommended for wilderness designation.

BNSF Railway maintenance engineer Larry Woodley stated the company's position in a letter to Park superintendent Mick Holm.

The draft EIS lacks sufficient scientific baseline data to measure impacts from the use of explosives on wildlife habitat, Woodley said. It also does not adequately discuss use of explosives in other National Parks, such as Yellowstone and Yosemite, or on Forest Service lands and for other railroads. He cited the Forest Service's National Avalanche Center use of explosives as an example.

"BNSF believes that the agencies' prior extensive experience with these proven methods (including the use of explosives) to reduce avalanche risk, and their present-day employment of pro-active avalanche-reduction plans on public lands, are key to understanding and implementing an appropriate avalanche risk-reduction plan at Glacier National Park," Woodley said.

Cost estimates criticized

Steve Thompson, of National Parks Conservation Association, said the risk posed to BNSF crews and Amtrak passengers "has been too long neglected," and the 100-year-old system of sheds has "not been adequately maintained and expanded over the years to meet protection needs."

"We are all fortunate that no major disaster has happened in recent years," he said.

Thompson called the $5.4 million-a-year estimate for snowshed construction "a reasonable cost of doing business for BNSF's lucrative freight transportation system across the Continental Divide."

Noting that BNSF officials estimated the cost of constructing sheds at $7,000 per linear foot "just two years ago," Thompson said he wouldn't be surprised if actual costs came in significantly less than the $20,000-a-foot figure BNSF provided the Park for its draft EIS.

Likewise, Thompson criticized BNSF's estimated maintenance costs, saying the reason why they shot up from an earlier estimate of $40,000 per year to "millions of dollars" was "most likely due to a situation of deferred maintenance and neglect by BNSF."

As for the lack of comprehensive scientific baseline data in the canyon area, Thompson agreed with the railway. However, he said, the EIS "does provide abundant information documenting the importance of the habitat" for various species and individual animals.

"While we'd love to see BNSF provide much-needed funding to initiate, expand or continue wolverine, lynx or grizzly bear studies," he said, "we strongly oppose the company's proposal to delay action. Frankly, BNSF has failed to adequately deal with this issue for decades, at considerable risk to life and property, and further delay would be irresponsible. Now is the time to act."

Critics of BNSF's position that shed construction is too costly point to the company's recent financial reports. BNSF announced on Oct. 24 that it posted an all-time record quarter.

Third-quarter freight revenues increased $597 million to $3.82 billion, and operating income increased $142 million to $920 million. Share value increased by 22 percent.

The company operates one of the largest railroad networks in North America, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. It moves more grain than any other railroad, and it moves enough coal to generate 10 percent of the electricity in the U.S.

Consultants speak out

Don Bachman, of Bozeman, a past executive director of the American Avalanche Association with a 40-plus-year career studying avalanches, told the Pilot he supports the Park's position.

"There have been considerable problems in the canyon for a long time, and it needs to be resolved once and for all," he said. "Explosives are against Park values, and there is uncertainty in their effectiveness."

Bachman said the snowshed that burned years ago needs to be rebuilt, and he cited increased rail traffic as a reason for building more snowsheds.

"BNSF runs heavier, longer, slower trains on their tracks, and they're exposed to avalanches for longer times," he said.

He also said he supports the Park's position on no use of explosives during snowshed construction, saying the work could be done with pre-fabricated structures in just a few years.

Ted Steiner, of Whitefish, the former director of Glacier Country Avalanche Center and now a consultant for BNSF, warned that construction of snowsheds could cause greater environmental impacts than stated in the Park's draft EIS.

Snowsheds could become barriers to wildlife, he said, and in some places, new snowsheds could act as ramps that would direct avalanche debris onto Highway 2.

Bill in Congress

A bill intended to fund avalanche control work may have suffered a setback in Congress this year after it was "linked" to the situation at Glacier Park.

Sponsored in the House and the Senate by Alaska congressmen, the Federal Land Recreational Visitor Protection Act of 2005 would have authorized $75 million in funding over five years. The bill passed the Senate but never made it out of committee in the House.

According to Bachman, who said both he and Hamre participated in hearings for the bill, the money was intended for forecasting and to establish a central munitions repository for artillery. Bachman said most of the artillery used in avalanche control in the U.S. is Korean or Vietnam war vintage, and shells are no longer being manufactured for them.

Bachman said the bill was first introduced in 2002, long before BNSF acknowledged their interest in avalanche control. He said the bill was intended to help programs in Alaska and the Rockies where artillery has long been used to protect railroads and highways.

Thompson was very critical of the bill, calling it "pork" and saying the money would be better spent on campgrounds. He said taxpayers shouldn't pay for explosives used by BNSF.

Using artillery

But the bill wouldn't subsidize BNSF, said Doug Abromeit, director of the Forest Service's National Avalanche Center. Abromeit also testified in Washington about the bill.

"The money would be a revolving fund, and all users would have to pay for munitions," he said. "The money would go back to the U.S. Treasury, like a loan."

Abromeit said 105 mm howitzers -- the artillery piece recommended for use in Glacier Park -- are used in about a dozen locations around the U.S. They are used by federal agencies and state departments of transportation, he said, not by private enterprise. The Alaska Railroad, for example, has been owned by the state of Alaska since 1985.

Abromeit said 105 mm howitzers are very accurate, and unexploded ordnance averages about 1 percent of the rounds. He said the large number of unexploded shells at Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone National Park resulted from the use of recoilless rifles with inferior munitions.

Typically, firing crews record when and where duds were fired so personnel can go up to the target area in the spring and locate the unexploded rounds, which are then set off with hand charges.

"You don't find 100 percent of them," Abromeit said about the Sylvan Pass area.

Glacier National Park's draft EIS can be seen online at:

[parkplanning.nps.gov].

- Richard Hanners, The Whitefish Pilot

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GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST

SALIDA, CO -- Salida likes to celebrate Christmas in a big way. From Holiday Park to Christmas Mountain USA the spirit of the holiday season is evident throughout the community and hearkens back to small town celebrations of the past.

Were things much different for our forbearers in the community?

Looking back at holiday celebrations at the turn of two centuries past gives an idea of how the community has changed and, in many ways, has stayed the same.

According to the Dec. 9, 1892 Salida Mail most of the organized celebrations of the holidays were church-centered, an example being the following excerpt from an article in that issue:

"Christmas will be observed at the Baptist Church Monday evening, December 21.

A tree bearing candy and oranges or nuts will be loaded for the benefit of the Sunday-school children, but instead of receiving presents as has been the custom heretofore, the children will bring presents which will be placed in the hands of a committee to be distributed amongst the poor.

This will be a valuable lesson in benevolence for the children, teaching them that they must sometimes give as well as receive."

And from the Dec. 13, 1892 edition: "The Christmas entertainment of the Presbyterian Church will be held on Monday night. Two Christmas trees and stereopticon views appropriate for the occasion will delight the hearts of the young people."

A stereopticon is a projector or "magic lantern," which has two lenses, usually one above the other. The devices date back to the mid-19th century, and were a form of entertainment and education before moving pictures.

By the 1930's shopping had become synonymous with the holiday season. Certainly there were Christmas parties and concerts put on by various benevolent, fraternal groups and churches but from a community standpoint, the holidays meant commerce.

From the Dec. 20, 1939 Salida Daily Mail:

"Christmas shopping in Salida became a rush Saturday and is continuing this week. A long line of package toters may be seen at the post office forwarding window.

The incoming packages also have increased and the post office has prepared for the last days' rush.

Various organizations are seeking to make Christmas cheerful for the needy. The Elks Lodge, Junior Chamber of Commerce, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Boys Scouts, Legion Auxiliary and other organizations are active this week".

By the 1950's the Salida Chamber of Commerce was well into the spirit of the season. In 1953 they started sponsoring a holiday Treasure Hunt.

Tickets were distributed with the idea being to match the number on the ticket with a number in a store window of a downtown merchant.

The event was so popular that in the following year it was reported in the Salida Daily Mail-Record, Dec. 10, 1954:

"About 4,200 men, women and children participated in the second annual merchants Treasure Hunt on Friday evening and continuing on Saturday.

All sorts of prizes were given and many merchants report claimants were in ten minutes after the hunt started.

Santa Claus was downtown about an hour and a huge throng of kiddies came to see him."

Also that year was a home lighting contest sponsored by the Pueblo Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company.

Trophies were awarded for the top three winners in one general class and the next five high contestants were awarded two cases of Pepsi products. The winners that year were; First place - Roy McGrath, 135 Park Avenue followed by the John Held residence and Teddy Argys Jr. in third.

That same year a special Christmas narrow-gauge engine and caboose came down from Marshall Pass, brightly decorated by the Railroad Veterans Club. With Santa in tow the train arrived at the First Street crossing were he embarked and accompanied throngs of youngsters to the Salida Theater to see Roy Rogers in "Pals of the Golden West." The event was sponsored by the chamber civic affairs committee and was attended by approximately 825 children.

Santa also made an arrival in downtown Salida in the winter of 1972 but this time he was in a sleigh towed by Jim McCormick of McCormick's Auto Parts. The sleigh went from the old railroad depot up F Street to a fish pond at Third and F, which, at the time, was located next to the former chamber of commerce office.

Santa gave away gift certificates compliments of Salida merchants redeemable at their stores to help with the kids' Christmas shopping.

Chamber officials also tried to make downtown shopping easier by "bagging parking meters in cheery red and green sacks so that shoppers can enjoy two hours of free parking during the season," The Mountain Mail, Dec. 14, 1972 edition reported.

Downtown retailers also extended their hours until 8 p.m. on the evenings leading up to Christmas.

That same year the Salida Sertoma Club sponsored a Christmas lighting contest. Judging was based on four categories; Conformity to the Christmas Spirit, Utilizing the Surroundings, Originality and Quality and General Artistic Effect.

On a less cheerful note, county road maintenance personnel had to close Spiral Drive until mid-January of 1973 to avoid a repeat of the previous year's vandalism of the five-pointed Christmas star which glowed nightly above the city on Tenderfoot Hill.

The county spent about $100 in replacement light bulbs.

In 1989 former chamber president Jim Gable envisioned a lighted tree underneath the five-pointed star as a compliment to it. Attempts to bathe the hill with light were unsuccessful and in 1990 then city councilman John Bayuk researched the possibility of outlining Tenderfoot with strands of lights in the shape of a Christmas tree.

The attempt was successful and Salida's "Christmas Mountain "earned a national reputation that continues to this day. - Mike Rosso, The Mountain Mail

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TRUE JOY OF SEASON IS WONDER CHILREN BRING

APPLETON, WI -- Experiencing the holiday season through the eyes of a child brings that much more joy to an already festive time.

How else would you be able to witness the unbridled elation of a 5-year-old at finding a simple bag of chips, a chunky candy cane and a chocolate snowman that St. Nick left for him in his stocking.

Or the daily requests to drive down Strawberry Lane in Appleton to see the trees on the street lit up all the same way and in the same colors.

Or a 3-year-old jumping up and down, clapping and shouting, “It’s Santa, it’s Santa,” when the big fella comes into sight.

Or the pride a preschooler feels in raising money with his class to go on a field trip to a store to find the perfect gifts for children in the Toys for Tots program and then looking forward to delivering them.

Or the awe of a little girl when she sees a baby Jesus in a manger.

While we were aboard the “Polar Express” train on our way to the North Pole from the National Railroad Museum in Ashwaubenon, the conductor asked us if we believe.

Yes, we said, we believe. We believe in Santa and all the excitement and anticipation he brings. We believe in hope and goodwill and sharing with others who aren’t as fortunate as us. We believe in the spirit and beauty of the season. And we especially believe in the wonder that only children can add to Christmas. I hope you believe, too. - Julie Gilkay, The Appleton Post-Crescent

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TOY TRAINS ARE FOR GROWN-UPS, TOO

DOWNERS GROVE, IL -- On a Christmas long ago, Ken Hammer slipped a gift under the family tree he felt sure would delight his two young children: a German-made electric train set, complete with a replica 1930s steam engine.

The kids weren't thrilled. But Dad was.

"It rekindled a passion in me. It all blossomed from there," said Hammer, a 58-year-old financial adviser in Chicago.

Eighteen years later, that set has grown to 500 feet of track, 200 cars and 25 engines, some of which whistled and chugged around a living room Christmas tree recently at Hammer's Victorian home.

A legion of aficionados across the country - usually men near or in retirement - devote their free time to buying, maintaining and playing with expensive and elaborate toy trains in their basements, garages or backyards.

With some layouts costing tens of thousands of dollars, a prerequisite for toy-train junkies is plenty of cash. An engine like the brass-bodied Garratt MS0072 LS steamer, for instance, runs about $4,500.

"It's a rich man's toy," said Elaine Silets, owner of Huff & Puff Industries, which designs and installs elaborate track layouts. Her Barrington-based company's layouts start at $25,000 "and go skyward from there," she said.

It was only after entering middle age, well into successful careers, that many devotees of high-end trains were able to indulge their passion.

"Once your family is taken care of, your children are raised, you can do these kinds of things," said Fred Haverkamp, a 58-year-old owner of a Chicago metals factory. "I can afford to fulfill these fantasies now."

There's a strong nostalgic streak in most model railroaders. Many had toy trains as kids, before the age of video games and computers, when a Lionel locomotive was a child's dream Christmas gift.

For many older men, "a lot of it is returning to your childhood and returning to your youth," said Hammer, who got a train set for Christmas as a boy.

Most ardent hobbyists also are old enough to remember the heyday of the railways. Haverkamp recalls sitting by the railroad tracks for hours as a boy, watching trains whoosh past.

"When it went by, a steam train sounded like a tornado," he said. "The vibration going through you was indescribable. It was a beautiful sight."

He has spent more than $50,000 constructing a quarter-acre layout in his backyard, with 2,500 feet of track that winds and crisscrosses through miniature towns, tunnels and mountains fashioned from stone blocks. Haverkamp built much of the layout, including the bridges, himself, often using equipment at his factory.

Some aficionados obsess over details, adding miniature human figures in period clothing or fully furnished houses, accurate down to toilets smaller than a pencil eraser.

Many are such perfectionists that even a derailment is seen as a mark of dishonor, said Don Miller, a 76-year-old retired business executive with an outdoor set at his home on Chicago's North Shore.

"I get a kick out of the derailings, the crashes, the imperfections," he said. "But I'm the exception among these guys."

But as younger generations turn to video games and other electronic toys, the future of the hobby is unclear. The average age of devotees was about 30 in the 1970s, around 40 in the 1980s and 50-plus in the 1990s, according Sam Posey's book "Playing With Trains."

A lot of kids "find it boring," Hammer said. "It's not action-packed all the time."

In fact, when it comes to holiday gifts, the tables are turned at the Hammer household.

It's his kids who buy him toy trains for Christmas. - Michael Tarm, The Associated Press, The Billings Gazette

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TRANSIT NEWS

ENGINEER BLAMED IN DEADLY 2005 METRA DERAILMENT

CHICAGO, IL -- A 2005 train derailment on Chicago's South Side that killed two women and injured 117 others probably was caused by an engineer who didn't pay attention to signals and operated the train too fast, federal officials said Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Metra also contributed to the accident by failing to recognize the risk posed by a significant difference between track speed and crossover speed at the accident site, and its failure to reduce the risk.

The derailment on Sept. 19, 2005, involved train 504 of the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., also known as Metra. The train had left Joliet, IL, traveling eastbound toward Chicago.

A locomotive and five cars derailed as the train, traveling 69 mph, entered a crossover from one track to another. The prescribed maximum operating speed, was 10 mph, according to the report.

NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker said in a written statement that the accident "was another tragic example" of one that could have been prevented had the train been equipped with a positive train control system; such systems automatically apply the brake if the engineer fails to do so.

The 2005 crash followed a 2003 Metra crash in which federal investigators found a train engineer at fault for being distracted when the train went over a 10 mph crossover at 68 mph, injuring about 45 people.

Since the 2005 accident, Metra has reduced the speed limit and altered a section of track where the two trains derailed in recent years.

The company replaced a crossover, which allows trains to switch tracks, with a straightway section of track, and lowered the speed limit in the section of the line between Joliet and Chicago to 20 mph to 50 mph.

"There is no more crossover at that location, therefore we would not need to take any additional precautions with regard to additional notification of the engineer… as the full report recommends," said Metra spokeswoman Judy Pardonnet.

As a result of findings stemming from the 2005 Chicago accident, the NTSB recommended to the Federal Railroad Administration that it immediately require all rail passengers' car seat backs be secured to the seat assembly.

NTSB investigators found some of the seats on 504 had sustained extensive damage.

The report also recommended that federal regulations defining a seat include all components of seat assembly, such as seat cushions, that could become dislodged during a train's acceleration.

It also cited the need for additional testing of all rail passenger seat assemblies to ensure they withstand certain acceleration levels, and called for establishing crashworthiness standards for passenger car body floor structure systems.

The NTSB advised Metra to conduct a risk assessment of all crossovers on its system. Those that pose an unacceptable risk due to the speed differentials between the maximum allo wed track speed immediately before the crossover and maximum allowable speed through the crossover should have guidelines and procedures developed for them to manage the risk, the agency said.

Metra is pursuing a system they say is better, cheaper and could be installed soon.

"There's something called an "electronic train management system," which is a far superior product... It's about a third of the cost, and takes a third of the time to install it," Pardonnet said. - Joanne Lum, CBS2, Chicago, IL, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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METRO BYPASSES OBSTACLE, BUT RAIL FIGHT ISN'T OVER

HOUSTON, TX -- The Metropolitan Transit Authority may have bypassed a stretch of politically dangerous track Thursday by eliminating the Afton Oaks neighborhood from its potential light rail routes, but it now must choose among three routes that all face some opposition.

Each of the three options the agency announced at its board meeting for the planned University line runs at least partly on Richmond, then divert south to Westpark at various points along the route. All three avoid Afton Oaks, a neighborhood just inside the West Loop where residents have objected vociferously to a light-rail line on Richmond.

But that doesn't end the battle.

Other residents and business owners along Richmond who have long denounced the idea still oppose the proposed routes.

"When you're doing a major public work through an area where people live and work, you're never going to have total popularity," said Metro Chairman David Wolff. "What your obligation is, is to listen to as many people as possible and make the best decision you can."

That decision will be made as early as March, he said, with the goal of starting construction on the line in mid-2008. The agency plans to study in depth the ridership and cost estimates of the three options and take public opinion into consideration before making a recommendation to the Federal Transit Administration, which could ask Congress to fund some of the project.

Some rail proponents suggested that Metro was too quick to abandon a route that would have run on Richmond through Afton Oaks, past the West Loop and into the Galleria area, where they said ridership would be greater.

Metro spokesman George Smalley said neighborhood objections did play a part in the decision, but he said there were "viable alternatives other than going all the way down Richmond."

"Two of the criteria that we have to look at are projected ridership and cost. Ridership is a very important piece of the puzzle, without question," he said. "At the same time, those weren't the only variables that we had to take into account."

The Culberson route

One of the three proposed routes bypasses Richmond almost entirely, as has been pushed by U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, a longtime rail critic who could obstruct federal funding for the project from his seat on the House Appropriations Committee.

That option is the least practical of the three remaining possible alignments because it's more costly and has a lower projected ridership than the others, Wolff said, yet the board agreed to study it further because of Culberson's interest.

"I would not be optimistic that would come out on top," Wolff said.

Culberson could not be reached for comment Thursday, but a member of his staff for special projects, Bill Crow, thanked the board on the lawmaker's behalf for including that route as a possibility.

"It really takes into consideration the people and the businesses along Richmond, which would be severely impacted," he said.

Democratic congressional colleagues from Houston have said Culberson will continue to carry considerable weight in directing Metro funding, even after Democrats take control of the House next year.

All three routes on the western section of the line would begin at the Wheeler Station on the existing Main Street light rail, near where Richmond becomes Wheeler as it crosses Main south of downtown.

Plans for the eastern line

The board also agreed Thursday to altered plans for the University line's eastern sections, which start at Wheeler station and run throughout the Third Ward. That segment has been less contentious, partly because there is less general opposition to rail, even though interests disagree about specific routes.

One proposed alignment would be built along Wheeler, extending eastward under U.S. 59 to Alabama, before ending at Scott along the edge of the University of Houston.

Another would travel along Wheeler to Ennis, and then Elgin to the Eastwood Transit Center, ending at the Gulf Freeway. A third route would follow Wheeler to Ennis but turn at Alabama before ending at Scott and UH.

Previous plans had one route traveling through Texas Southern University, a plan school officials opposed.

Carroll Robinson, a former City Council member now serving as an associate dean at TSU, said he is happy that Metro listened to school officials' concerns.

"The university wanted to keep it off the campus, but they also wanted to make sure the line served the greater Third Ward community," he said.

Western options mapped

On the western segment, one of the three routes would divert south to Westpark at Greenway Plaza. Another would make a similar move at Cummins. The third — the one included at Culberson's behest — would divert the line south at Montrose to the Southwest Freeway and then to Westpark.

All would end at the Hillcroft Transit Center.

The recommendations came after a consulting firm considered the estimated construction costs and ridership projections. The Cummins option had the most effective ratio.

The board room was packed for the announcement at Metro headquarters Thursday morning, and a dozen speakers with nearly as many opinions on the issue expressed their concerns during a public comment period.

Chris Seger, who has lived in Afton Oaks for 35 years, said he's pushing for what he called Culberson's route and is pleased rail will not disrupt his neighborhood.

"We have this wonderful boulevard of oak trees that we've been nurturing for 50 years now, and it would certainly threaten them," he said.

Daphne Scarbrough, who owns The Brass Maiden, a metal design and fabrication shop on Richmond, worried the rail would hurt businesses and residents along Richmond, particularly during construction.

But others spoke in favor of rail farther west on Richmond.

"We would really love to actually be able to tell our kids, no, you don't take the car, go get on the rail and go to school. I can leave my car at home," said Trisha Keel, who lives and works on a side street off Richmond near Chimney Rock.

Another proponent suggested politics drove the decision.

"It seems like Metro has bowed down to a very vocal minority in Afton Oaks," said Jonathan Paull, co-director of RichmondRail.org.

"You put rail where the people are, and that's on Richmond."

Support from City Hall

Mayor Bill White was traveling Thursday with his family and couldn't be reached for comment.
He has previously said that he wanted Metro to gauge community support for the various routes and that the ultimate site would most likely have some combination of lines on Richmond and Westpark. White's spokesman, Frank Michel, said the mayor would be supportive of the plans announced Thursday.

Several other City Council members whose districts would be affected by the line praised the board and Metro staff for their work, but none supported one line over another.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, emphasized the need for unity on the project once it's presented to lawmakers in Washington. Though she has not endorsed any particular route, she said it's more reasonable to expect funding for a project that's less costly than Culberson's proposal.

It's possible the debate about the different routes could land in court. Some don't think voters approved Richmond as a possible route in the November 2003 referendum because the ballot mentioned only Westpark.

"The ballot language never said 'Richmond,' and there would be that possibility, as a last resort, of a lawsuit," Seger said, noting that other critics might take that action.

But Metro officials have said they have latitude to choose a route in the general corridor near Westpark, based on ridership and cost estimates. - Alexis Grant and Matt Stiles, The Houston Chronicle

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REPORT: NYC RAIL TUNNELS VULNERABLE

NEW YORK, NY -- The forecast is ominous: A small explosive sneaked onto a commuter train punches a 50-square-foot hole in a tunnel under the Hudson River. More than a million gallons of water a minute surges in. Flooding engulfs parts of the system within hours.

That worst-case scenario was included in a draft analysis of the PATH rail system linking New Jersey and Manhattan, obtained by The New York Times and reported in Friday's editions. The analysis suggests the system's tunnels, which serve 230,000 riders each weekday, are more vulnerable to terrorist attack than originally thought, and raised questions about whether officials have taken enough precautions.

"It's a cause for concern," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday, adding that he was waiting to see a copy.

Gov. George Pataki said he had received the analysis and called it part of an ongoing effort to look at security on regional transit systems.

"There are going to be continual efforts to upgrade the infrastructure and to take security measures to protect us in the post-9/11 era," he said Friday.

Other lawmakers, including New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, said the report shows a need for more federal funding for transit security.

Officials with the agency that runs the system, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, would not discuss the specifics of the analysis.

"The Port Authority constantly conducts threat analyses and risk assessments for our facilities and we will continue to work with our partners on all levels of government," agency spokesman John McCarthy said Friday. "It's an unending process, as we are never satisfied and will always look for ways to upgrade security.

"If at any time we believed the riders of the PATH were in imminent jeopardy, we would immediately close the system," he added.

The Port Authority police recently increased patrols and bag searches in the PATH system, and the agency's board voted last week to spend $180 million to boost security on the rail line.

The analysis, characterized as preliminary and continuing, was based on work by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.
The Times obtained it from an unidentified government official who the paper said was troubled by the agency's response to it.

Concerns have long been raised about potential terrorist attacks on tunnels connecting to New York City. In July, authorities said they had thwarted a suicide-bomb plot involving the PATH tunnels they say was meant to destroy an underground wall that keeps the Hudson River from entering the World Trade Center site. - Tom Hays, The Associated Press, The Billings Gazette, courtesy Coleman Randall, Jr

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LAGNIAPPE (Something extra, not always railroad related, for Saturdays only)

REMEMBERING THE GREAT BRYN ATHYN TRAIN WRECK

NEWTOWN, PA -- Charles Ermentrout Jr. admits that at age 90 it's sometimes difficult to sort out what he actually remembers and what people tell him he remembers.

But this he does know - 85 years ago on December 5, 1921, the then 5-year-old Ermentrout was a passenger on one of the two trains that were involved in one of the worst wrecks in this area for its time.

In fact, he may be the only living survivor of the crash.

And on the 85th anniversary of that crash, Dec. 5, he and his daughter Sandy Rotenberg, of Mount Airy, revisited the site and walked alongside the tracks where the Bryn Athyn train wreck of 1921 killed 27 people and injured more than 70.

"Sandy and I have been walking in Pennypack Park [Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust] for years," said Ermentrout, of Newtown, who now lives at Pennswood Village, a retirement community. "We wanted to walk to the wreck site last year but we missed the anniversary date. We're doing it for nostalgia, for old times' sake. At my age, it may be the last chance I have to walk out there."

It was a tremendous crash in its day, and the headlines reflected the carnage. "More than 50 killed and injured in terrible disaster on Newtown Railroad. Passengers and trainmen mangled, crushed, scalded and burned alive. Horrifying scenes at wreck. Remains of victims carried away in baskets," screamed the big type in the Dec. 10, 1921, edition of the Public Spirit.

According to Ermentrout, his father, Charles Sr., was taking the youngster and his sister, 3-year-old Mary, into Philadelphia to deliver to some friends who were then going to take the children to visit Santa Claus. They were in the third car of the southbound passenger and milk train, No. 156.

Charles Sr. had put the children into the seat and was proceeding to the first train car, the one that housed the smoke room. On train rides into Philadelphia when his children did not accompany him, the elder Ermentrout would play bridge with his buddies in the smoke room.

He was headed toward the first car to tell his friends that he could not play bridge on this day when southbound train No. 156 from Newtown to Philadelphia collided with the northbound train No. 151 from Reading Terminal to Newtown.

"Almost everyone in the first car was killed or seriously injured," said Ermentrout. Although he is a little unclear of the series of events, he does remember that "... we didn't see father for a couple of hours and I recall there was considerable concern about if he was alive."

After the crash, a Mrs. Clemons - a doctor's wife who had come from her house near the crash site, according to Ermentrout - tended to the dazed children. She took them back to her house, presumably to shield them from some of the carnage.

"My sister always claimed that her head was caught between two seats and that I was the big hero and pulled the seats apart," said Ermentrout with some trepidation. "But that was her story."

The elder Ermentrout, unharmed it turns out, was eventually reunited with his children, although Charles Jr. doesn't recall how much time elapsed before the children got word that their father was alive.

According to news reports from the day, the trains collided head on at about 60 mph. Because the site of the crash was a "cut" in a hillside through which only a single track lay, and the fact that it was on a curve, the "enginemen" didn't see each other until impact.

The crash reportedly could be heard for miles. The "cut" in the hillside left nowhere for the trains to go. According to reports, the force of the collision was so great that the engines were stood straight up, then fell back together onto the first car of the northbound train No. 151.

Several of the cars were wooden with gas heaters. Add to that the hot coals from the steam engines, and the ensuing conflagration was fatal to many.

According to the Dec. 10, 1921, issue of the Public Spirit, Charles H. Ewing, vice president of the Reading Railroad, issued a statement, that read in part: "We are wholly at a loss to account for this gross violation of the order and rules, except that it was an unexplainable failure of the human agency."

According to the report, copies of an order were given to enginemen and conductors of both trains instructing northbound train No. 151 to take the "siding" track at Bryn Athyn and wait for southbound train No. 156 to pass. Train No. 151 apparently left Bryn Athyn in violation of the order at 07:46. The crash occurred eight minutes later, at 07:54.

"Mr. Ewing's statement throws the blame squarely on Walter Yeakel, the engineman whose shoulder blade was fractured, and Charles L. Evans, the conductor," read the main story in the Public Spirit news story.

"Evans' ability to free himself from blame, according to railroad officials, depends upon his explanation of the manner in which he interpreted the dispatcher's order flashed from the Reading terminal."

Evans was described in the newspaper account as "middle aged with a wife and family in Norristown, who has been in the Reading service a score of years, his record unblemished."

Yeakel was described as "an engineman of years' experience. He has run expresses and locals and is familiar every foot of the Newtown division roadbed and the run of trains on it."

According to a report in Bucks County Gazette in 1981 by Art Thompson, former editor and publisher of the Delaware Valley ADVANCE and The ADVANCE of Bucks County, "The engineman and his conductor were tried, found guilty of criminal negligence and sentenced to prison. Both were pardoned later."

Fortunately for Ermentrout, the weather was cool and clear on Dec. 5 for his walk along the tracks to the crash site. Joining Ermentrout on his walk were daughter Sandy and her husband, Sam Rotenberg; Joe Thomas of the Upper Moreland Historical Association; and Millie Wintz of the Pennypack Ecological Restoration Trust. Ermentrout's wife, Harriet, a Bucks County artist, accompanied the group, but stayed in the car making sketches rather than take the walk.

"It [the walk] was a little tough on me because I have a bad knee," he said. "But I made it. We had fun. It was wonderful." - Mike Morsch, The Newtown Advance

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A WANDERER WHO RETURNS EVERY YEAR

December 21st sneaks up on me every year unnoticed -- till a glance at the calendar brings it all back, rings a bell, stops me cold.

It's an interruption, just as he was. It comes four days before Christmas, when the holiday is bearing down on everybody like a freight train. There are still so many things to do -- errands to run, deadlines to meet, plans to make, people to greet...

It was a day pretty much like this one when he showed up -- not that we much noticed him. Not then.

They found him out by the railroad tracks in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where I wrote editorials for the local daily. He was just passing through. Like the rest of us.

At the time, he was only another bum down on his luck, riding the rails, and that's where he'd got off. The end of the line.

It was four days before all Christendom is to rejoice in the birth of the one who said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me."

He was sick, but not sick enough for the hospital to take him in, or so they said. But he was too sick for the Salvation Army to take responsibility for him. It's an old story: No room at the inn.

And so, through the short, waning hours of that day, the shortest day and longest night of the year, this wayfarer was trundled from one station of his cross to the next.

Until by nightfall there was no place for him but the county jail. Not because he'd done anything wrong, but because he didn't seem to belong anywhere else.

The jail would be the last place he would know in this life. Because some time during the night, they didn't know just when, he died. It took days -- weeks, even -- for the newspaper just to find out his name. It was Joe Telles, as in Tell Us.

William Faulkner could have written a novel about it, and did. He called it Light in August. And he called his wanderer Joe, too -- Joe Christmas.

How do you put such a death into words? A death unattended. A death alone, without friends or family or ritual. A death without final words or even the presence of a fellow mortal to hold his hand, say a comforting word, make even a futile gesture.

To try to write of such things is to know the limits of language -- and, in Faulkner's case, defy them. Joe Christmas still lives in his words.

Joe Telles' story didn't end that night, either. He comes back every Dec. 21 to those of us who remember. He comes back just before Christmas -- like some unrecognized herald bearing the Good News, and the other kind, too.

That is how a secret, solitary death joined itself to our lives in Pine Bluff.

And why it is still joined to mine by the meager, fragile thread of memory every Dec. 21.
Joe Telles left little enough behind when he died. Just a few rumors about a man dying in the jail, and his body being shipped out before an autopsy could be performed.

His death would be more carefully chronicled than his life. There was little enough to report about the latter -- just the usual, incomplete annals of the poor and troubled. It was an unimportant life by the world's spotty reckoning, punctuated here and there by a brush with the law, the traces of a family, an illness only vaguely described.

It was as if the only noteworthy thing Joe Telles ever did had been saved for his last 24 hours. As if he had lived his whole, uneventful life only to pass through our lives at the end. Like a gift we didn't recognize. "Not as the world giveth," He said, "give I unto you."

Four days before Christmas, I get my gift. It is the gift of sight. I suddenly see the shadowy figures on the street, really see them, and recognize that they have faces. There used to be an old friend among them, someone who was always too proud to ask for help. Where is he now? When did I stop looking for him?

How many Joe Telleses do you know? How many are still shuffling from place to place unseen?

Every year, on Dec. 21, mine comes through town again -- unbidden, unanticipated, unforgettable. Right in the middle of the whole, hectic holiday season. Strange how we confuse the essence of it with an interruption. - Paul Greenberg, Editorial Page Editor, The Arkansas Globe-Democrat

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THE END