Re: Today in history

THEN & NOW: In those wonderful days at the beginning, we simply showed up! Half of us didn't know the other half. We got to know each other doing our jobs. We were urgently trying to get the long line of rolling stock and locos over to Chama or at least spotted up on high country sidings to prevent any kind of vandalism. We worked out asses off and loved every moment of it.
We had a mission and our hearts were full of hope and optimism. Volunteers of every description were on board. If somebody said, "Hey, were out of sand, help us put cinders on the rails"...not one or two showed up. The train emptied in seconds, like Marines storming a beach, and the job got done...fast! I made a lot of great friends on those long weekends working on our new little railroad. In those days, it wasn't WHO was going to do the job, it was who got to the problem spot first, and at a dead run. We were so TEAM oriented, with a VERY CLEAR mission, that often we worked hard as a team and only learned the name of the person we worked with...later. It didn't matter who we worked with...it was what we DID. Frankly, it's a wonder nobody got killed in those days, but we managed to survive, and the team got the job done....and we were rewarded by sosme beautiful sunsets as we peaked at Cumbres and started down to Chama, arriving very late. A dirtier bunch of sweat coverd people could not be imagined, but beneath the soot covered faces, there was a smile of accomplishment that would light up a ballroom. No back slapping, just a silent prayer of thanks that we had done it, and there was not a big ego to be found...anywhere. The sense of accomplishment and 'paying our dues' was more than enough compensation. We left Chama for our homes, and as we drove back home we started to plan the next weekend and what needed to be done. We came home, exhausted, not knowing half the people we had worked with. It didn't matter. We had all the honor of being at a very special place at a very special time, and that was enough. Ego's be damned. There was not an ego in sight. Perhaps there is a present day lesson here.