The Boxcar Blues

by Jeff Egerton

  Over dinner that night Barney talked non-stop about the changes President Roosevelt was making, in an attempt to revive the economy. “FDR’s got this guy named Harry Hopkins who is going to run the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, and he’s the type that will get things done. The plan is to establish over fourteen hundred camps for the Civilian Conservation Corps, where they’ll employ two hundred and fifty thousand people. The Civil Works Administration is employing eight hundred thousand people with plans of employing close to four million. Now, the most of the jobs in these programs are temporary, but when people start working they start spending, and that will fuel the cycle of economic recovery.”

  Catwalk asked, “All of those plans sound good, but how soon do you think more people will be flying?”

  “We’ve already seen an increase in passengers, but a few things have to happen before the increase is continuous. More businesses have to open, so more business people will be flying. People have to accept that flying is safe and they have to learn how much quicker it is than taking the train. One of the problems we’re facing is the railroads serve meals and drinks in their dining car, so hell, the people are traveling in comfort and luxury. They’re not about to give that up if they think airplanes are unsafe.”

  “Why can’t we serve meals and drinks on our airplanes?”

  Barney said, “I’ve heard the some of the pilots at Transcontinental and Western are taking thermoses of hot coffee for the passengers. I’m going to have to keep that in mind because the day is going to come when planes are going to be flying long distances and passengers have to eat.”

  “I agree, Barney. Why don’t I get us a couple thermos bottles for coffee. That’s a start.”

  “Good idea. Damn, it’s great having you back.”

  Catwalk agreed.

  Back at the farm, Curly and Billy Sue weren’t making any progress toward a meeting of the minds. Billy Sue was ready to get married, but Curly was more hesitant than ever.

  Tired of arguing Billy Sue finally asked him, “Curly, do you want to get married, or not?”

  Curly had been thinking about this. He liked Billy Sue and wanted to continue their relationship, but not on a permanent basis. He said, “I don’t want to get married right away.”

  “O.K., when?”

  “I don’t know, Billy Sue. Maybe in a few months.”

  “I don’t think you want to get married at all. I think you don’t have the guts to tell me you’re against it.”

  Curly lit a cigarette and said, “I like you, Billy Sue, but I’m not ready to get married to anyone right now. I might feel different in the future, but for now, I’m not getting married.”

  “Well, I’m heading back home. I guess my uncle was right.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “About a year ago he told me, ‘Billy Sue, as you go through life remember one thing; if it’s got tires or testicles, it’ll give you a lot of problems.’”

  Curly laughed and said, “That’s good, Billy Sue. Can I give you a ride to the bus depot?”

  “Sure. I’ll take a ride.”

  On Wednesday morning Catwalk showed up for work an hour early. He stowed his lunch and charts in the cockpit, helped the ramp crew clean out the plane, then preformed the preflight inspection. When Barney arrived they got the weather briefing and waited to load the passengers.

  Ten minutes before their departure time, he and Barney took their place at the bottom of the stairs. Nine passengers lined up with tickets. Two said something about having a black pilot, but as soon as they did, Barney advised them to refund their tickets and thanked them for making room for more passengers. Only one person refused to fly. The other one got halfway back to the terminal, then turned around and joined the end of the line. Barney winked at Catwalk and climbed the stairs to the cabin.

  Catwalk flew the first hour of the trip in fair skies with scattered clouds, but nothing threatening. When Barney took over Cat said, “I’m going in back for a few minutes.” He then pulled a thermos and a dozen paper cups out of his bag and said, “Our passengers are going to ride in comfort.”

  Catwalk offered coffee to the man who had been hesitant to fly with him. The man refused the beverage, but asked, “Are you a porter? I thought you was one of the pilots.”

  Catwalk looked him in the eye and said, “I am one of the pilots, but because we want our passengers to have a nice flight, I’m working as a porter too.”

  He then served several other passengers. While serving he made it a point to talk to the people. He noticed a few who appeared to be nervous about flying. With these people he took extra time and made it a point to explain how safe the airplane was, with multiple engines and two pilots. He also told them, “A plane like the Boeing Model 80 can land in just about any field. So unless we’re over the middle of the Rocky Mountains, if a problem comes up we can set her down, just like we were at the airport.”

  Everyone seemed to accept his rationale and when he told Barney about this, he said, “I wish I would have thought of that.”

  At Denver, three people opted to refund their tickets. Before doing so Barney told them that Catwalk would be flying on a regular basis and if they had a problem with him, then they should plan on using another airline.

  Once they were airborne, however, Catwalk went back to serve coffee and found a different attitude. The second man he served said, “I’m glad to see that the other pilot stuck by you when those people said they didn’t want to fly with a black pilot. That took some guts. I’ll fly with you guys any day.”

  Another passenger said, “Don’t let these people get to you, son. You’ve learned to fly and I give you credit.”

  When Catwalk returned to the cockpit and told Barney about the support, Barney said, “It’s only a matter of time. They’ll come around.”

  One week later Catwalk was at the controls on the same trip with Barney. Some people were still refusing to fly, but in a short time he’d already noticed an improvement in people’s attitudes toward him. Being accepted by the customers was the best thing that could have happened to Catwalk and he felt good about himself and his job again.

  He’d just climbed to eight thousand feet to clear Raton Pass, when the number one engine started missing. He retarded, then advance the throttle, but it still sputtered.

  Barney had been in back talking to the passengers when he heard the RPM change on the engine. He returned to the cockpit and Catwalk said, “Number one is acting like it’s got a clogged carburetor jet.”

  Number two started doing the same thing. Both pilots realized that the chances of two carburetors jets clogging at the same time, were astronomical. Catwalk said, “Fuel contamination! Try changing tanks. If that doesn’t work, we’ve got to find a field, fast!”

  Barney changed fuel tanks, but this didn’t seem to help. Number three engine started coughing and number one died completely.

  Catwalk looked ahead of them for a suitable landing field, but they had just cleared the pass so the terrain was still mountainous.

  Barney muttered, “Ain’t a God damned place to land that I can see.”

  Catwalk looked at his rate of descent in the glide. His altimeter was unwinding at a steady rate and he knew he’d have to find a place to land soon or they’d be crashing into the side of a mountain. He craned his neck to look out the windows and asked Barney, “How about that open space at one o’clock?”

  “It ain’t any good. There’s a shear drop-off at the end. If we don’t get stopped and we’re all going down the mountain.”

  Catwalk looked out his side and saw the ground closing in on them. Then, he saw a level field, which was very small, but it might be the only opportunity to land that they’d have. He said, “Over here at ten o’clock it looks like there’s a level area just beyond that farm house.”

  Barney stretched to look out the window. “It’s level, but it’s too small to for this plane.”

  “It’s our only chance. I’m setting it down ther
e.”

  Number two engine died as Catwalk maneuvered the powerless plane toward the tiny field. He noticed, not only was the field small, but there were trees beyond it and he had to clear the farm house to get to the field. If he didn’t make this landing, they’d crash into the trees.

  He watched as the farm house grew larger in the windshield, but the field they’d be landing on didn’t seem to get any larger. He skimmed the top of the farm house and saw a man beside the house who looked up in fright as the airliner passed not more than ten feet above his house. Number three engine died as Catwalk saw the roof pass a few feet beneath the plane.

  He pushed the nose down toward the edge of the field and seconds before he plowed in, he hauled back on the stick and flared to a hard landing. He and Barney jumped on the brakes and the Boeing came to a stop just thirty feet from a large tree.

  Barney went back to tell the passengers what happened. After he explained about the contaminated fuel, several of the passengers complimented him on the fine job of making a safe landing with all three engines out. With pride he told them, “It was Catwalk who made the miracle landing and he did it in the only place within miles that was level enough for a landing field.”

  When Catwalk came out of the cockpit, he walked down the stairs to congratulations from all the passengers. He had arrived, but now, he had to get the plane out of there.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The passengers, with their luggage, were put on a bus to Albuquerque. Barney used the farmer’s phone to call Curly and tell him to fly the other Boeing to Albuquerque so it could resume service in the morning. He also told Julio to fly up in a Jenny with two twenty gallon cans of gas. Then he asked Catwalk, “Well, you got her in here. How do you plan on getting it out of here?”

  Catwalk scratched his head and said, “We’re less than forty miles from the farm in Cimarron. We’ll load just enough gas to fly it to the farm on one engine. With no passengers and minimum fuel load, it should be light enough to take off in the short confines of the field.”

  “That’s what I was thinking too. First, we’ve got to get that contaminated fuel out of the fuel tanks and engines.”

  While they waited for Julio, Catwalk and Barney drained the contaminated fuel and bled it out of the engines. When Julio arrived they put the clean fuel into the Boeing and started all three engines. After idling the engines for a few minutes Catwalk taxied to the edge of the field and turned into the wind. When he had the nose pointing into the wind, he saw the tree right smack in his departure path. He had no choice, this was the only way out of the confined field.

  He held the brakes, lowered the flaps, applied full power, then released the brakes. The Boeing began it’s take off roll, on what seemed like a snail’s pace. Barney called out airspeeds as the plane accelerated. At eighty-five knots Catwalk pulled back on the yoke and the Boeing broke free of the field, but the tree loomed large in his windshield.

  With the farm house on his right and the hill on his left, Catwalk climbed on the edge of stall speed. He knew the Boeing was going to brush the tree tops; he prayed it would just be the gear and not the props. He felt the tires passing through the tree top leaves, then breathed a sigh of relief when they were clear of the tree. He climbed to fifteen hundred feet, then cut two engines. Barney, who had been silent except for giving him the airspeeds, said, “I don’t think we should put that place on our charts as an emergency field.”

  Catwalk said, “No, but let’s send that farmer a case of whiskey.”

  Catwalk and Barney arrived back in Albuquerque the next afternoon, just as Curly and Lem landed. Curly shouted, “Hey, Cat. Did you know you’re famous?”

  Catwalk wasn’t sure if he heard right. “What?”

  “You’re famous, man. One of the passengers on that plane you landed in Raton was a reporter for the Denver Gazette. He wrote a story on you and it was in this morning’s paper.” Curly handed Catwalk a copy of the Denver paper.

  Catwalk read the account of his forced landing that said he, “Dropped the airliner into a field not much bigger than a boxing ring, and landed as gently as a butterfly with sore feet.”

  He showed the article to Barney who smiled and said, “Be sure to send a copy to Dee.”

  Catwalk’s notoriety from the forced landing resulted in a renewed relationship with the passengers. Not a week went by that a passenger didn’t ask him about it and many of the passengers enjoyed having him at the controls. There were still a few people who refused to fly his trips, but it less frequent. As time went on his love of his career increased. He was convinced he was one of the luckiest men alive.

  Barney had applied for another route, this one from Denver to Salt Lake City, with a stop in Grand Junction. It was approved in the spring of ‘36. Since the new route took them over the heart of the Rockies, all Rocky Mountain Airways pilots went to Denver to attend a course of flying in mountainous terrain. It was while he was at this course that Catwalk ran into Kenneth Freeman, one of the few black pilots he knew who flew for a small charter outfit.

  Catwalk asked him, “What are you doing up here?”

  “I put in a job application at United Air Lines.”

  Surprised, Catwalk said, “Aren’t you with Air Express anymore?”

  “No, they cut back and since I didn’t have seniority, I was one of the first to go.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully, you’ll hear something soon from United.”

  “Well, you know how it is for a black pilot trying to land a flying job; damn near impossible. I might head back to Chicago and see if they’re hiring there.”

  “Ken, we’re adding another route. Barney might be hiring more pilots, and he just wants experienced, dependable pilots.”

  “That sounds great, Cat. When I get back down to Albuquerque, I’ll put in an application.”

  “I’ll mention to him that I know a good pilot who’s looking for work.”

  On the flight back Catwalk though about the possibility of Kenneth going to work for Rocky Mountain. After what he’d been through, he wasn’t sure if he was doing him a favor by recommending him, but by now most of the passengers were used to a black pilot.

  Two days later Catwalk was driving home from the airport and noticed a familiar green truck in front of him, weaving all over the road. He recognized Curly driving and muttered, “Oh, no.” He honked.

  Curly looked in the mirror, recognized Catwalk and pulled over. He got out, flask in hand and obviously drunk. “Hey, Cat, you off for the day?”

  Catwalk ignored the question and said, “Curly, it’s only two o’clock and you’re drunk again. You know what Barney thinks about your drinking. Are you trying to get fired?”

  Curly opened the passenger door, sat down and lit a cigarette. He took another swig and offered the flask to Catwalk, who declined. He said, “Cat, today I’ve got a good reason for drinking. I might have to quit flying for Rocky Mountain.”

  “Are you kidding me? What’s wrong?”

  “I got a letter from my brother. Things are real bad at home. There’s no money coming in and they’re going to lose the farm. That bitch Theresa is making life so miserable, Jack says he’s about ready to shoot her. And, my old man is sick, they think it’s cancer.”

  “Why don’t you take some time off like I did. Barney will give it to you. Go back and see what’s wrong with your Dad.”

  “If I go back, I won’t be able to leave. My brother didn’t say so, but I think he wants me to come back to run the place while Dad’s sick. He probably thinks with me there, we might be able to save the farm and that bitch won’t be so mean.”

  “Does Barney know about this?”

  “Not yet. I’m going to tell him tonight.”

  “You better wait and tell him when you’re sober. If he sees you drunk again, he might fire you on the spot.”

  “Let him fire me. I don’t care, Cat.”

  “In case you don’t remember, you told me I was crazy for quitting my flying j
ob. You’ll never find another job like this, or a boss like Barney.”

  Curly said nothing for several seconds, then, “So what do I do?”

  Catwalk laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Stay away from Barney until you’re sober, then talk to him.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks, Cat.”

  The next day when Curly talked to him, Barney understood his dilemma. Barney told him he’d give him the time off, but he wanted two weeks notice to adjust crew schedules. Although he was apprehensive about leaving the airline, Curly agreed. He was also worried about what he’d find when he went back to the farm. In his mind, he had a valid excuse for drinking.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Catwalk went back to work on the Albuquerque to Denver leg the next morning. He was glad to get back in the air and away from everyone else’s problems. Talking with Curly, however, had reminded him that he hadn’t been home in several months. In her letters his Mom had said the family was fine, but still he longed to see them.

  In Denver, Catwalk laid over for the night, then paired up with Barney for the leg to Salt Lake City with a stop in Grand Junction. As soon as they reached their cruising altitude, Catwalk asked, “I haven’t been back to see my family for a while. Any problem if I request some time off from crew scheduling?”

  “No problem, but you’d better hurry. If Curly leaves we might be short of pilots.”

  “I understand and I can wait until it won’t put you in a bind.”

  Barney then showed Catwalk a photograph of a new airliner that was being built by the Douglas Company. “They call it the DC-1. She’ll carry eighteen passengers; cruise at a hundred and ninety knots, with a range of fourteen hundred miles.”

  Catwalk couldn’t believe his eyes. The plane was all metal, had a single wing and twice as big as the Boeing Model 80. It only had two engines but if Barney was right, it would outperform the Boeing in every category. He said, “That’s an impressive plane. When will they be available?”