Vintage

The Adventures of Lily- The Mysterious Package

by

Becki McAnnally

My grandmother, Lily, and her family , lived in a rural area, but the school, church and  some stores were not too far to walk. Lily walked to school unless the weather was really bad, in which case, she probably stayed home, since her father owned a sawmill, and usually was already gone with the horse and buggy by the time she was ready to go to school. There was a railroad track that she had to pass , and often, in the morning, she would have to wait on trains to go by before she could continue her trek.

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One day, as she was headed home, walking along at a slow pace, contemplating who knows what, she came to the railroad, walking alongside the track for a short piece before crossing. She noticed something unusual inside the track, lying next to the inside rail. Remember, this track was going through a rural area, and in the evening, a train wasn’t due until after dark, a few hours yet. She peered at the package, but didn’t recognize the content, so she picked it up, putting it in her trusty pinafore apron, to carry it home to Mama.

When she got home, she went around to the back porch, where she knew her Mama would probably be. Her mama greeted her and asked what she had in her apron. (After the frogs incident, her mama had learned a lesson). Lily said, “I don’t know what it is, Mama…I found it by the railroad track”…and opened her apron to her mama, who very calmly said, “ Give that to me, Lily”…and  very carefully removed the package from the apron. She carried it out beyond the shed and gingerly laid it on the ground, then called Lily’s papa to come look at it. When her papa saw it, he nearly had a stroke! It was four sticks of dynamite, bound tightly together. Apparently, someone had placed the dynamite on the rails, waiting for the evening train to come by, so they could blow up the train and rob it ! He went to get the sheriff, and when all was said and done, they never caught the person(s) who put it there.

There were many miracles that day. First, that it didn’t explode while she was picking it up or taking it home…then when her mother took it from her…but also that whoever placed the dynamite wasn’t watching and saw her pick it up. That in itself is a scary thought about what the consequences might have been. I guess they just thought they had some time before the train came, so they weren’t watching. At any rate, the Lord had something else for Lily to do, so she was protected that day, as well as many others, in her journey through life.

Becki McAnnally

9-18-09