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The Big Yawn & Overbite Ry. Co.
The Piute
I was born in the house my father built. Ok, just kidding. I was born and
raised in Denver, Colorado. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I grew up in
Lakewood and later Littleton, Colorado, both suburbs of Denver. The D&RGW
and Santa Fe ran not too far from my house and I used to spend a great deal of
time down by the tracks with my good friend Mike Ramsey. His father just
happened to own a hobby shop, Littletown Hobbies. I wonder if that's why
Mike became such a great friend? I spent a great deal of time hanging out at
the "Hobby Shop." Of my other friends at the Hobby Shop, Stan Berg, Mike's
brother Doug, and his friend Harry True, I was the only one not to go to work
for the Railroad. Instead I went on to get a Degree in Theatre at the University
of Denver. You can see how far that got me, although it does help in
designing model railroads.
While at DU, I got a summer job in the Theatre in Creede, Colorado. This is
when I got the nickname "Piute." I didn't hang out with the "Piccalillys," as
the miners referred to the Theatre people. So, one night, while sitting at the
bar, a miner named Sarge, came up to me, and said, "You look like an Indian.
You look like a Piute. You must be The Piute." And ever after I was.
After three years, I left the Theatre Company and went to work in the mine.
Hey, $10 an Hour compared to $60 a week is quite an incentive. So, I started
as an Oiler underground. Best job I ever had. After about a year I lost the job
in the mine when silver took a nose dive. I bummed around Creede for a
couple more years, doing odd jobs, a little mining, some bar tending and even
started my own Furniture Refinishing business. I finally gave up and came
back to Denver. Where I am today.
In 1979 I was diagnosed with MS. That was in the middle of my Creede
Adventure. The MS got worse over time, but very slowly. It wasn't until 1990
that I ended up in a wheelchair. That was the year I bought my house. Which
was a good thing, since landlords don't like it when you start blasting out
doors and such in order to make them Handicap Accessible. It was also good
because it gave me a place to build the BYOB.
I was born on March 6, 1956, and am gainfully unemployed on Social Security
and another source of income. I've never been married, not that I haven't
tried. I don't have any children. Besides Large Scale Railroading I'm also an
active Black Powder Muzzle Loader.
Well, as I said before, "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!"
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