Once up a time!
Once upon a time there were dragons were "real" creativity was admired, even rewarded. Once upon a time, should say once up this time making something made from nothing was celebrated!!!
Terry Bowen worked the night shift.
For two years, between trains, he built a dragon.
Terry
is 61 and has worked at the rail yard in Harrisburg for 22 years. The
decommissioned parts were going to scrap — boiler sections, wheel
flanges, coupling hooks, signal gantry arms. Terry started pulling
pieces aside and assembling them in a quiet corner of the yard.
"Nobody asked what I was doing," he said. "Night shift, you keep to yourself."
When management found out, the dragon was already 40 feet long and structurally welded to a concrete pad.
They sent Terry a letter. He prepared for the worst.
The
letter said the dragon was being designated an official yard landmark
and that Terry was receiving a commendation for creative use of
materials.
"I read it three times," Terry said. "I thought it was a joke."
It
wasn't. The dragon now has a name plate. New staff get a photo with it
on their first day. Terry welded the name plate himself.
He's still on nights. He's started on a hatch..
