Post  #2690.   Hooray, hooray .. for the 8th of May!  He sez, "Dude, what's that all about?" I explain. Then he explains, patiently, "Dude," it's always 'dude' with this kid, "Dude, we don't need that sort of foolishness anymore. They live right here. It's just down the hall and a soft, 'Knock-knock.'"

Really?

Suppose I'm the only one left alive who even remembers?

Silence.

Oh my.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
posted by Rick at 11:18 PM

Post  #2689.   Dipswitch, WV.  What a mess of a town that was. It sat in a scruffy West Virginia Valley with no police, no fire department, spotty utilities and a population I would describe as skinny, hairy and dimwitted. The only reason Dipswitch existed was its location where a bunch of rail lines came together. You'd probably think they made a living servicing the crews, you know, restaurants, bars, a general store. Nope. It was there because of the frequent train wrecks and the great looting since it took so long for help to arrive.

Almost overnight near the turn of the century, everything changed. A new railroad consolidated the various freight lines, straightened up the tracks and actually followed a schedule. No more wrecks. I remember seeing those lovely, speeding locomotives tear through town with 100-odd cars in tow, never even slowing down. Nice logo on the side, big letter: "USB," United States Busses, I think. Something about a bus anyway.

Not to many of us old timers left who remember any of that, the crazy wild days. One thing I do miss is when something broke, there were people around who knew how to fix it. Them days are long gone, that's for sure.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
posted by Rick at 1:33 AM