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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 4 (August 1, 1928)

What Every Railroad Woman Knows

page 42

What Every Railroad Woman Knows

We knew it when we married him
Some twenty years ago—
That he would be away a lot,
In fact, he told us so.
But the real truth we didn't guess,
Not all … . or even half—
Sometimes we sigh, sometimes we cry,
And now and then we laugh.
They have no hours, these railroad men,
Their work is never done,
They just remember that it's night
When everyone goes home.
We wives and mothers learn to smile,
The young as well as old—
And keep the meat from burning up,
The beans from getting cold.
We go to church and club, alone,
To pictures, lectures, too,
We rear the children, cook the meals
And pay the bills when due.
The youngsters get the whooping cough,
And measles, mumps and 'grippe—
We carry on both day and night,
And don't give up the ship.
We bid our friends come in to dine,
P'rhaps eight or ten, some night;
There's biscuit, turkey, frosted cake
And candles burning bright.
The hour draws nigh; all things are set—
There goes the telephone!
The message says: “I have to go,
I simply can't get home.”
We ask the neighbours in to play
A bridge game; without fail
The man back to the office goes
To catch up with his mail.
We plan a motor party out,
Or a radio party in—
'Tis all the same—he's down the state
Nine chances out of ten.
When we've been married fifty years
And celebrate the day,
I fancy I'll receive a wire,
And this is what 'twill say:
“Please tell the guests I'm tied up here
With snow and rain and flood,
Just go on with the party, I
Would be there if I could.”
I envy those whose days are planned,
And sometimes wish we'd stop
Meeting committees, moving trains,
And start a barber shop!
Yet well I know if fortune came
And a million we were left,
To tour the world and live at ease,
One man would be bereft.
He'd think of Harry, Tom and Dick,
Of Bill and Fred and Joe.
And say, “Let's give away the coin
And stay with the B. and O.”
Sometimes I think when the Pale Horse comes
With Death upon his back,
The Head will moan, “I can't go now,
There are coal cars off the track.”

Postlude

If one should ask of me advice
As to marrying railroad men,
I'd say, “Look Out! Take care! Beware!”
(But I'd do the same again!)

page break
“….. And from the loud-resounding rocks below, Dash'd in a cloud of foam, it sends aloft A hoary mist, and forms a ceaseless shower … .” —Thomson. (Government Publicity Photo.) Sutherland Falls (1904 feet high), Milford Track, South Island, New Zealand.

“….. And from the loud-resounding rocks below,
Dash'd in a cloud of foam, it sends aloft
A hoary mist, and forms a ceaseless shower … .”
—Thomson.
(Government Publicity Photo.)
Sutherland Falls (1904 feet high), Milford Track, South Island, New Zealand.