P.W.A.

In the rugged North, where the folk go forth
By dogteam, boat, or plane;
Where the wind and snow make the going slow,
And all roads are wrecked by rain;
For the isolate who must wait and wait
For news from those who are dear,
When the mail gets through with a letter or two,
'Tis a time of joy and cheer.

Now the workers take pay from the mines, but they stay
In Uranium City town ........
And make many a trip to the Beaverlodge strip
When the mail plane touches down.
But in '66 up there in the sticks
When winter came again, ("agen")
The temperature dropped till the mercury stopped
At minus a hundred and ten!

When the mail plane arose, its gasoline froze;
Then the radio went on the blink.
And the telephone crackled and cockled and cackled
Till you couldn't hear yourself think.
Through the whole winter long everything turned out wrong:
The mail just COULDN'T get through.
The weather was fair with no planes in the air;
But it stormed whenever they flew.

When it got so rough that the crew felt tough
There was nothing else to do
But to turn around and report to "Ground"
That the captain had got the "flu".
If the mail reached Ft. Smith, it was dumped there forthwith,
And left in that neighbour town.
If it DID make the trip, there was ice on the strip -
And the sander broken down!

The bar out of beer as Christmas drew near,
The "BAY" out of butter and bread,
Tanks for oil and propane nearly empty again
Made the faint-hearted shiver with dread.
But the Northerners bear heavy burdens of care:
Deprivation or labour or pain ---
If the hope lives on that at some bright dawn
The mail will fly again!

At last came the word, and EVERYONE heard:
"Today the mail gets through!
The weather's fine all down the line,
And they've got a healthy crew.
From tail to wings, from plugs to rings,
The whole machine is new.
They've checked their their maps and props and flaps
- And stewardesses, too!"

The news-hungry crowd, buzzing glad and loud,
Anticipating mail
With a hopeful grin watched the plane come in:
At last, it could NOT fail.
And a cheer went 'round as it touched the ground.
Soon the captain stood with a smile;
Said: "It's left behind, so if you don't mind
Dear friends, Please Wait Awhile!"
Shalom, David