Andy Falcone

Andy Falcone

M. L. Lindberg

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 Marvin Lindberg

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter One

His name is Andy Falcone. He was a child of the forty's, but had no memory of World War II, except for a few Jeeps that he occasionally saw in his neighborhood, or the references to Adolph Hitler as the worst of the worst.

He came of age in the fifties, which was the decade of America becoming the pre-eminent leader of the free world, both politically and economically.

He was born into poverty, but never thought he was poor. He had to deal with a mother with some mental problems and a father with a severe drinking problem.

And yet, and yet...he was a hopeful, goal-oriented, young man, who believed in the American dream.

In 1959 he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, not yet the bastion of American liberalism. In those days he had almost no interest in politics anyway. His only interest was to get through his studies, get a degree, and prosper.

But life has a way of getting in the way of even the best of intentions. And love, yeah...love, manages to often be the straw that stirs that cocktail called life. But we'll get to that later.

He wanted to be a civil engineer, even though he had only vague ideas of what that career really entailed. He managed to get through the first year with a very average GPA. His biggest concern now was how to finance his second year of college.

Civil Engineering students, in those days, could work in the summer as road survey assistants. They basically would be paid to learn road building.

Wow! thought Andy, what a great deal!

He could not contain his excitement. He would now be able to get through at least one more year of college, as he was broke. But he didn't own a car! How would he get to work every morning?

Fortunately, after making a phone call to the Wisconsin State Highway Commission, he was given the phone numbers of two of his expected co-workers. One of them said that for a dollar a day, he would give him a ride to Portage, Wisconsin, the location of his work site.

He was to be picked up at 6:15 a.m. Andy was always punctual, and this time was no different.

Wow, what kind of car is that? he thought, as his ride drove up to his rooming house address. Looks like a Cadillac!

Are you Gary? asked Andy, as he opened the car door, getting a whiff of a new car smell.

That's me! Get in!

Gary was a slim, curly-haired young man of twenty-three, who always had a look about him that seemed to be thinking of something interesting, other than what he was currently doing.

Andy settled in on the passenger side of the car, listening to a Chubby Checker song that was blaring out of the radio, called: The Twist.

I'm Andy...nice to meet you.

Good to meet you too.

What is that song?

The Twist! Great song, huh?

Yeah. That's the first time I've heard it.

Hey...don't you have a radio?

Actually...no.

Hell, its number one! They even have a dance to go with it. You twist yourself into a pretzel, ha, ha, ha.

Say Gary, how long have you been working for the highway commission?

About a year. I finally saved up enough money to put a down payment on this car. You like it?

Yeah, what is it?

It's a Plymouth! Can you believe it? They just came out with it.

Looks like a Cadillac!

Yeah...the fins. That's why I bought it, he yelled, laughing.

Gary had an unusual laugh, sort of like a hyena. When he laughed you felt like laughing with him.

I'll bet the girls like it.

They do. That's another reason I bought it!

That hyena laugh again.

Gary, what kind of survey work are we doing?

You mean you don't know?

No, they didn't tell me anything.

We're building the interstate.

Really? I remember reading about it in the Capital Times.

Yeah, Uncle Sam forked over a couple million, so we could build the first interstate highway in Wisconsin. Pretty good...huh? Hey, are you a college boy?

Oh, oh. It seemed obvious to Andy that he didn't like college boys. Nothing he could do about it however.

Yeah, I just finished my freshman year. I was lucky to get this job.

I'll tell you one thing, ah, Andy, they don't teach you squat about highway building. That college boy that worked with us last summer didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, ha, ha, ha.

That hyena laugh again. Andy couldn't help but laugh right along with him.

It's mostly surveying, right? That's what they told me anyway.

Yeah, mostly. You know how to use a transit?

Yeah, I had a survey course.

Good. You'll be all right. But you're still wet behind the ears. Let me give you some advice. Don't drop the damn transit! Actually, you probably won't even be using the transit much anyway. You'll mostly be a rod man. You just swing the rod, back and forth.

That's easy enough.

Yeah, you just swing it, back and forth. Piece of cake. It's a good job. Mike doesn't work us too hard.

Who's Mike?

He's the crew chief. He's our boss. Hey, I'll let you in on a little secret: He likes to take long breaks. We work two hours, and take an hour break. How about that?

So...what do you do, just sit around for an hour?

Nah! We go into Portage. He's got his favorite café. We sit for an hour in there, ha, ha, ha!

"You're right. He is not a slave driver!"

Hey, we work for the state!

Andy wasn't sure what to make of that statement. But...he would find out soon enough.

* * *

Oh-h-h...we got a new man, said the man with the dark sunglasses.

That's Mike, whispered Gary, as they walked up to the work trailer.

Mike was not a very tall man, 5'-6" at the most. But he had a way about him that let you know in no uncertain terms that he was boss.

Come on over here, he yelled out like an Army sergeant. You've got something to sign. This is how the State keeps track of you. Oh...I'm Mike.

I'm Andy.

They both walk into the work trailer. Mike hands Andy the form to sign.

You know how to survey?

Yeah...I know how.

Good! That college boy last summer didn't know shit.

There was that college boy term again.

Mike walked out of the trailer. He put his sunglasses on, and pronounced: Okay men, let's go!

.

Andy sat in the back seat of Mike's car with someone he hadn't met yet.

Hi. I'm Guy.

I'm Andy. Ah...you just starting too? said Andy, not quite sure of what to say.

Hell no! I've been with the State for four years. I've been working with Mike for three.

Mike's car was a '55 Chevy Bel Air. The car's suspension took a lot of beating driving over mostly dirt roads. All highways are dirt before they are paved. But it's not until the dirt is graded that they become somewhat smooth to drive on. For now it is a rough ride, and Andy felt every bump.

Okay...we're here, said Mike, looking at the plans. Guy, grab the transit. Andy, you take the rod. Follow me.

Andy followed Mike to a spot with a stake in the ground.

Hold the rod right here. Look at Guy. I think you know what to do, right? He said a little sarcastically.

Oh yeah...I know what to do.

Guy set up the transit, and began to look through it. He was looking directly at that rod that Andy was moving backwards and then forwards. Guy they waved his hand. He had his elevation reading.

Okay Guy, bring the transit over here!

Mike didn't say a word to Andy. To Andy that was good news. Gary was standing right next to Andy the whole time.

Okay Andy, on to the next stake.

The whole day was spent doing the same things, over and over. Andy now had the hang of it. He kept looking around, trying to visualize a highway. It seemed hard to believe that this was the beginning of US Highway 90...Interstate 90. It would go from Madison to La Crosse. When it was all done, Wisconsin would have its first Interstate highway, and Andy would have helped build it. That felt pretty good.

Chapter Two

The summer was whipping by. Andy didn't have much time to do social things. He was focused on earning enough money to get him through year two of college. He had sort of split up with his high school girlfriend. But like a lot of young people, splitting up didn't exactly mean that it was over. He and Stephanie still occasionally saw each other.

Andy took on a second job selling cookware in the evenings. Door to door salesmen were very much a part of American business. Companies would hire salesmen, train them, and make appointments for them to go into a home to make a presentation to a husband and wife.

Andy had to purchase a car for this. All he could afford was a very used car. But it ran all right. Andy didn't bother getting insurance, as he knew he would sell the car when he went back to school.

Andy lived that summer in a rooming house, which was only a couple of blocks from Lake Mendota. He was also only a couple of blocks from his aunt Sue. Sue was always concerned about her nephew's welfare. She volunteered to do his laundry, and had an open invitation for him to come over whenever he wanted.

When he brought over his laundry, Sue's husband, Elmer, insisted they play cribbage. Andy had just learned how to play, and enjoyed the challenge. Today was laundry day. Andy knocked on her door. Sue invited him in.

How's your summer going Andy?

Oh...it's going okay. I'm working for the Highway Commission.

Elmer came into the room. He was a very heavy man, who always wore suspenders that held up his always spotted pants. The spots came from repairing shoes in the basement.

When are they ever going to finish that highway Andy? It seems like it's taking forever!

Andy didn't know quite how to answer him so he just laughed.

Andy...you want to challenge me to a game of cribbage?

Sure. Maybe this time I'll win.

You're going to have a tough time beating him Andy, said Sue. He's won some card tournaments. How about a cup of coffee Andy?

Sure. Thanks.

Sue, remember when you came to our house on Mifflin Street? I was in the ninth grade. My mother was in the hospital, and dad had just lost his job. I remember you came over and looked in the refrigerator. You wanted to make sure we had enough to eat.

Yeah Andy, I remember. There sure wasn't much in that refrigerator. I went over to the corner store and picked up a few things. I sure didn't want you kids to go hungry.

It wasn't long after that that we went to live on the farm.

Yes, and I was sure happy about that. One thing about living on a farm is that there is plenty to eat, Sue said, laughing.

That's for sure.

Fifteen-two, fifteen-four, and a double run of eight! How's that Andy? as Elmer raced down the cribbage board.

Fifteen-two is all I got, said Andy, very unenthusiastically.

* * *

The room where Andy lived was not much to brag about, but it was cheap. Right across from Andy's room lived a man who seemed to be some kind of businessman.

One Saturday morning they met in the hallway.

Hello, said the man. I'm Joe Nelson.

I'm Andy Falcone.

Nice to meet you Andy. What kind of work do you do?

I work for the Highway Commission. I'm working on the interstate.

Oh, you mean up around Portage?

Yeah.

I just flew my plane over that area yesterday.

I did see a small plane yesterday around two o'clock. Was that you?

That was me! You know Andy, I'm heading over right now to take my Piper Cub out for a spin. Want to see your highway from the air?

Hey...that would be great! Yeah.

It's a small plane, but we have room enough for two. I'm a crop duster. Some of my jobs are in that area. I've got a big dairy farm to spray this morning. I'm leaving right now.

What time are you done?

I've got my plane over at Truax Field. I should be back here about one. How's that sound?

Sounds great. I've never been in a plane before.

First time for everything Andy.

* * *

Andy looked down at the very area he had been working the last several weeks. He couldn't believe how small it looked. Even the large earth-moving machinery looked like toys.

Andy, I can't wait till that highway is finished, so I can land my plane on it.

You can do that?

Well, I'm not supposed to unless I'm in trouble, ha, ha, ha. Okay Andy, hang on tight!

Joe suddenly turned his plane around, doing a flight maneuver that made the plane go sideways. Andy felt something in his stomach. Fortunately Andy had a strong stomach.

Wasn't that fun Andy?

Yeah...it was!

Okay Andy, time to do a little spraying.

Where is it?

Sauk City. About twenty miles from here.

See the river down there?

Yeah, quite a sight.

It's the Wisconsin River. Great place to go fishing.

.

In what seemed like no time at all, they arrived at Sauk City.

There's the farm Andy. See that field of oats there. Four-hundred acres. I'll have it all done in half an hour, he boasted.

Joe positioned himself right at the north-east side of the field, and quickly brought the plane down, and turned on the sprayers.

Wow, said Andy, amazed at what he was seeing.

These farmers don't want to take their machinery into these fields. That's why they hire me. Kill the weeds and bugs before they take over the crop.

Joe, you ever spray DDT?

Oh yeah. But not for long my friend! You ever heard of Rachel Carson?

No...not really.

"She's a one-man, or should I say