Free The Boxcar Blues by Jeff Egerton

farms, but I got this one and another up north by
Cimarron. A couple of my hands, Sam and Julio stay up there and run
the place. I consider myself fortunate because I’ve seen what
happened to the rest of the country and it’s about as sad a state
of affairs as I can imagine.”
    Catwalk asked, “Will the President make
things better so they can open the schools?”
    “ I think so, son. He’s
talking about forming a Civilian Conservation Corps to create jobs
and that should help. Do you want to go back to school?”
    Catwalk said, “I’d like that better than
anything. My Momma would be so proud . Curly said he’d teach me to
read letters as soon as we found some books.”
    “ Son, that’s good that you
want to learn, but you don’t have to be in school to learn things.
If you keep your eyes open life is the greatest teacher there is.
And, I’ve got a room full of books you boys can read. Say, have you
boys ever seen an airplane up close?”
    Both boys silently shook their heads. They’d
seen a few planes flying over during their travels, but never
dreamed of seeing one up close. Barney lit a lantern and told them
to follow him as he walked to a large building off by itself that
looked like a barn. Both boys were speechless when they saw a real
airplane parked in the building.
    Barney said, “This is a Curtis Jenny
biplane. It was built in 1918 and used by the Air Service Corps for
training pilots during the big war. I bought a couple of them when
the Air Service sold some off. It’s got a Hisso four cylinder
engine and cruises about ninety knots.”
    The boys were astonished and watched with
open mouths while Barney showed them the details of the airplane;
how the engine and propeller worked, and how the rudder made the
airplane turn. They marveled at the construction as he let them run
their hands over the smooth polished curves of the wooden prop and
feel the tension in the wing cables. When they’d had a good chance
to look it over, he asked, “You want to go up flying one day?”
    The thought of flying in a plane made
Catwalk speechless. For a change he had a good feeling about their
future. That night he slept well, with a full stomach, money in his
pocket and dreams of flying through the clouds in a real
airplane.
    Two weeks later, Catwalk had finished
painting the new shed when Barney asked him, “Are you ready to go
flying?”
    “ Yes sir, but what about
Curly?”
    “ I can only take one of
you up at a time. He’s got to finish churning the butter, then it’s
his turn. Here, put this helmet and goggles on.”
    Barney pulled the airplane out and told
Catwalk to get in the front seat, while he started the engine. On
the third pull of the prop, the engine started and Barney climbed
into the rear seat. When they taxied out to the takeoff field,
Catwalk felt a thrill he’d never known before.
    Barney took off and flew around the area,
scaring sheep and buzzing windmills. With the wind in his face and
the sound of the engine purring along, Catwalk was mesmerized. He
felt free as a bird, sailing through the sky, and the best part
would be writing to his Momma to tell her that he rode in an
airplane.
    After they landed, Barney said, “Would you
like to learn how to fly, Catwalk?”
    Hands in his pockets Catwalk shook his head
and said, “I don’t know if I could do that.”
    “ Sure ya’ can. You learned
to drive the truck real fast and this is easier than driving. Over
the next couple of weeks, I’ll teach you guys how the plane works
and then I’ll teach you how to fly it.”
    Catwalk broke out in a wide grin, but
couldn’t find words to express his excitement.
    Two days later Catwalk wrote a letter to his
Momma, telling her how well Barney was treating them, that he’d
learned to drive a truck and about his airplane ride. He didn’t
mention his experiences with the deputy back in Texas.
    For the next two months Catwalk and Curly
worked like men possessed. Every few days Barney taught them