“OK, let’s go. Last one there is a . . . hey, where’d you go, Stumpy?”
So Slim hurried to follow Stumpy to the Lakes Sand & Lumber Co. He
landed in a pile of snow with no sign of Stumpy. “Hey Stumpy, where are
you?”
There was no answer. Then Slim heard a muffled sound coming from
nearby. Upon closer inspection he found two feet sticking up into the air.
He touched them and they began to move in a vigorous manner. Slim knew
full well that Stumpy more than deserved his current dilemma, but he also
missed talking with his friend. So he dug, very carefully, so as not to hurt
Stumpy.
“Whew! T-thanks, ol’ buddy.”
“No problem. I'm used to rescuing you,” chuckled Slim. He then looked around. “So,
where’s
this railroad on the porch?”
“D-darned if I know,” stammered Stumpy. He was still rather chilled.
“Great! Oh well, let’s explore the area.”
So explore they did, and after only a very short time they spotted a big
snowman next to some railroad tracks. Huge would be a better word for it!
“This thing gives me the creeps,” said Stumpy. “Do you think some
Y2K glitch made that snowman so big?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” answered Slim. “I think that Y2K stuff has been
blown way out of proportion. Hey look, here are some railroad tracks. I
think we found the Lakes Sand & Lumber Co.”
“But,” whispered Stumpy, “there can’t be this much snow in Marlton,
New Jersey. Remember, I’m from nearby Delran and we had no snow at all.
I think that Y2K stuff is real!”
They walked down the tracks, and after a while they heard an
approaching locomotive. Slim noticed that Stumpy turned white as the new
fallen snow when it stopped. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“That’s Will with our one-spot. This is the Lazy Acre RR.” Sure
enough, the locomotive was the small Dunkirk, and Will was pulling the
water car. (Yes, I know it’s New Year’s Eve, but I’ll still assume it’s
water.)
“But how could we be at your railroad?” asked Slim. “We clearly set
our bearings for Marlton.”
“You don’t want to hear my answer,” replied Stumpy. “Now I’m sure
all this has been caused by Y2K!”
There was no reason to continue their explorations. Both Slim and
Stumpy wanted to return to the “entry location” so they could end this
evening’s strange happenings. They happily accepted a ride from young
Will.
On the way they passed a man walking along the track. “Hi there,
Bindle Jim, “ shouted Stumpy. Bindle Jim nodded as he continued his
midnight walk.
“Why do they call him Bindle Jim?” asked Slim.
“Well,” replied Stumpy, “he went to a logging convention at Camp
Elkanah out in
Oregon and forgot his bindle. He darn near froze to death at night. To make things worse,
two guys even burned this blue jeans!”
“But why is he out walking at this hour?”
“We never ask when it involves Bindle Jim. He just hasn't been the same since he returned
from Camp Elkanah. It's a sad story.”
A bit later young Will stopped to pick up a wreath for his dad, big Jeff.
Stumpy volunteered to hold it since he and Slim were standing in the only
available room.
And then they came to the big snowman. They both thanked young
Will and hopped off the one-spot. Another adventure, or should I say
misadventure, was about to end. Neither said a word for a few minutes;
saying good-bye was always difficult for these two railroad buddies.
“When and where will I see you next?” asked Slim.
“Who knows. It’s up to the moon and a beautiful railroad song. If this
Y2K thing ever gets solved, there are plenty of other fine layouts to visit,
including the Lakes Sand & Lumber Co. in Marlton.”
“You got that right, little buddy,” said Slim. “Until next time.”
And so they both vanished into the cool, thin air of south Jersey,
heading back to St. Louis, Missouri, and nearby Delran. But rest assured,
Slim and Stumpy will meet again to make another layout visit. So fill your
water cars, web site readers, it could be yours!
