LESSON LEARNED

I told the men a little rain wouldn't melt them.

The year was 1973 and I was a young Gang Foreman with the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. It was one of my first gangs, a small gang made up of seven or eight men all of which had more time and experience than me. We were working on the San Angelo Branch when a typical summer storm rolled up and it began to rain. There were some suggestions from the men that we head for cover and wait out the storm, or, because we had already had a good productive day and after all it was Friday, call it quits and go home. I assured them that a little rain wasn't going to melt them and that we were going to put in a full day.

About that time I saw a familiar white pickup truck bouncing down the old right-of- way road coming toward us. It was my Roadmaster (Big Boss). This was going to be good. I could already hear the at-a-boy coming my way for staying with the chore at hand despite the weather. I walked down from the track to the road and stood there at semi attention with rain dripping from the brim of my hardhat. He pulled right up next to me and rolled down his window about four inches and said "Beck, what the hell are you doing?"

I told him we were working and having one of our better production days. He replied "Don't you know it's raining?" I stammered around for a second and said that I wasn't sure what his policy was concerning working in the rain. After which he replied "My policy is that the first drop of rain that hits you is by the Grace of God, the second drop of rain that hits you is your own damn fault!" He then rolled up his window and drove off. Lesson learned -- the first of many.