On tis date in 1976 I slept little
Bicentennial activities were still going strong. The 200th birthday of our country was widely celebrated in big towns and small towns.
But I was worried about trains.
Rochelle did not have an overpass. We lived on the south side of town. That meant we had 2 railroad crossings on each north south street. It was common to have crossings blocked, sometimes for hours.
Traffic would back up through town and people would be cranky at having to wait.
We had a friend, Bob, who was an engineer on the BN line. Yes, he drove the train. We went to NIU together and both majored in journalism, but he found working for the railroad paid better.
Twice we got caught by trains the he was driving. He would wave to us from the cab, we would wave and yell at him from the car.
It was a fun relationship.
But on July 12, I was nervous.
Why?
Well, Jackie was pregnant and 2 weeks overdue. They were going to take her in on the 13th and induce labor. In Rockford.
I was worried there would be a long delay if trains had blocked the crossings.
We would have had to drive west, take a back road north, then drive east to reach the road to Rockford.
When we got up. to go, no train. That was great.
We made it to the hospital, and labor was induced, and Emily came into the world.
As Jackie lay in the hospital bed, waiting for our baby to arrive, the nurse asked if I was going into the delivery room with her.
I said absolutely not. I did not want to have anyone distracted by my fainting.
When we brought Emily home, Julia cried and cried because we would not het her hold her little sister.
But she eventually did get to hold her. I took of picture of that moment of Julia holding her sister, and tears running down her face. I wish I knew where that picture was.
Some people think 13 is an unlucky number. But Jackie and I know that a 13 brings great things.
Peace and Love
Especially Peace
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