Steel Rails to Heaven
It was iron and it was black and stretched so far down the track into the setting sun it seemed to all most touch it. Its life began in the depths of the earth in iron ore deposits that had been formed millions of years before. The ore was unearthed not by modern heavy equipment but the sweat and muscle of late 1800's labor. No health plans, no safety, no dreams just a few tons of ore a day to feed the kids and buy a little coal for the stove. This was the conception of an Iron Horse, a brooding sleeping giant that when brought to life lifted its voice and roared to the heavens with a never ending stream of smoke. As if to announce; “I am alive” and the children would run to their Mother’s sides and never fail to turn and watch the splendor of it all. Through the years the common thread no matter the generation is the mournful cry that beckons the listener. Its cry calls to us, down mountain valleys, desert flats, inner city ghettos, ocean vista’s, and flower filled Colorado meadows. Everyone knows they are machines, that they are simply tools going on their way. It seems, however, when we are not with everyone, and we are simply alone to listen, it whispers something to our soul. For over 150 years they’ve whispered the same secret, “I’m going someplace and I can take you with me” and for just as long we have yearned to go; escape the confines of our normal lives and take a different path. A journey where we too can cry out under moon lit skies for others to join us on steel rails that take a path to Heaven.