The Old Girl, Number 7

This morning I found myself musing about the less-than-Kingdom focus I’ve had on heaven and God’s will for me on earth. Did Christ’s Kingdom involve me or not? While I’ve lived to keep my home fire burning, I’ve drawn my shades and haven’t involved myself in what was going on outside – other than what I’ve been doing in my study – reading, musing, writing, but to what end?  A lot has happened these past ten years in the world around me. It made me think about John Wesley Ridgeway.  Who was he?

Back in 1922, John Wesley Ridgeway had been promoted as fireman for Number 7, a steam engine owned and operated by the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway. Number 7 – called the ‘Old Girl’ by John Wesley – for years hauled passengers and freight across the Blue Mountains in the Ozarks. As her fireman, and as usual, John Wesley arrived early at the Spruce Pine, North Carolina rail yard to fire up. He loved his position as a fireman – felt called to it. He had previously worked as a baggage clerk, where he was gladly stationed in the bowels of a box car alone with the luggage. He had no interest – no interest at all – in a position that dealt with passengers: being a Porter, Steward, or Car Attendant. He couldn’t cook – no, he didn’t want that job. John Wesley liked the solitude, the heat emanating from the furnace, and the strenuous physical demand needed to feed the Old Girl’s furnace her daily portion of coal. In fact, he snuck into the yard for months and fired up the furnace before anyone else arrived. Over time, he fed her tons of coal, which he reasoned was abundant in the Blue Mountains – so, why not? Did it matter that the Old Girl didn’t go anywhere? Transport anyone? Haul any freight? It hadn’t for months, but no one came to him and explained why. No, he reasoned that he’d fire up the Old Girl and feed her – if for no other reason than to warm himself during those frosty mornings while he waited for August Seer, the Chief Engineer, to show up with the schedule. Then, come to think of it, he hadn’t seen August in months, and yes, it seemed odd to him that someone moved the Old Girl to a secluded part of the railyard. Did it occur to him to find out why? No, he was the Old Girl’s fireman, and he took his job seriously. It didn’t bother him that he hadn’t received a pay check… how long? ‘Huh,’ he grunted when he thought about it. What John Wesley didn’t know as he sat at his station that morning was that Clinchfield management had concerns about the station use of coal without compensating revenues. They expected pilferage, but found out what John Wesley had been doing. One of the station clerks saw smoke where it shouldn’t have risen: in the far corner of the yard. The Spruce Pine Station Manager was kind to John Wesley. He went out and sat with him… even threw a shovel full of coal into the furnace, but then he had to remind John Wesley that he and the Old Girl were retired in 1932.   

Curious, but this story came to mind when I was considering my life over the last ten years… as I’ve figuratively used the furnace, burned the coal but went no-where to impact the lives of those around me. Could use a bit more of a Kingdom focus I’d say.