Page Three of Grandma's Boxes
"Well, closer I suppose. But I want you to see something," he said as held up a finger indicating he wanted me to wait. Glenn disappeared behind his display and rummaged around before returning with a thick 3-ring binder.
He opened the binder, located the page he was looking for and turned it around before handing it to me. He had the rough draft of the book with him, just in case we met again, and was tapping the introduction page. I dutifully read what he handed to me, which explained how the book had come to be and thanked those who had helped him along the way. Then I came across the paragraph that honored my father’s help to him! I choked up. Finding no words, I could only hug him to express my feelings.
I excused myself long enough to locate Mike and escort him back to show him the page. We promised to buy a copy as soon as it was complete; hot off the presses.
Well, these things take time and the creative process can be slow. We ceased to see Glenn at the train shows and heard that the photographer/author had suffered a stroke. It seemed to us that perhaps Glenn might never get to see his book published.
Four years later, in November 2004, Mike attended a model train show with some of his buddies and returned with a special surprise for me. He handed me a small, yellow receipt and said he had found my Christmas present and couldn’t wait for me to know what it was. It would be shipped, but he wasn’t certain it would arrive in time.
A Christmas present from a train show? I like trains, but I couldn’t imagine anything I might want. I unfolded the receipt and looked at the small advertisement attached. Tears began to well up in my eyes. He had purchased a book titled Steam Echoes, because of one solitary paragraph in the introduction of Glenn Beier’s long-awaited book!
Fortunately, Glenn’s project had moved forward after his recovery and was set to be released just before Christmas. Mike purchased an advanced copy and was so excited, he had to tell me although Christmas was still weeks away.
Each day I watched the mail for a box the shape of a book, but December passed without its delivery.
We were having a gathering with some of Mike’s side of the family on January 8, 2005. As I was setting out the food, the doorbell rang and Mike went to answer the door. The next thing I knew, he was holding a brown, book-shaped parcel out to me, saying, "Merry Christmas, darling!"
I began to shake when I recognized the return address. Mike cut through the tape and handed me the box. Between us, we were explaining to our guests what all the excitement was about. It was obviously a belated gift, but I said, "I have been waiting so much longer than December 25 for this. I have been waiting years."
I read the inscription on the title page aloud, as tears blurred my vision: "To Roberta in memory of your father, and my very good friend, Mike Costley. Glenn Beier."
Next I turned to the introduction and struggled to read the paragraph aloud to our guests. It was a good thing tissues were nearby, because we were all dipping into the box for awhile.
Glenn mentioned many other people who helped him along the way, some I also knew. The photography and history were wonderful and worth every cent of the purchase, even though that one sentence was all that really mattered to me. Many of the pictures that were included are of the Sierra Railroad locomotives in Jamestown, California. Being able to say my husband and I worked on those engines at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and even used one as our wedding chapel makes the book all the more special.
Grandma took her scissors out of the sewing box and clipped a one-inch square piece out of the newspaper in the 1940’s and tucked it away. I married a railroader who enjoys model train shows. If those two things hadn’t happened, and plus countless other events in-between, would I have ever held that book in my hands 65 years after things were first put into motion? I wonder if the universe has a Plan B, just in case?
©2009 Roberta McReynolds for SeniorWomen.com
