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Nov 2011
Deep beneath Park Avenue,
where protestors never tread,
The Sandhogs delve beneath
the earth laying new track bed.
In time to come commuter trains
from Grand Central to Penn
will take the tunnel they have dug
at a cost now of one dead.
A father and his only son,
both of a Sandhog line,
were excavating underground
and working overtime
when suddenly there was a roar
a shifting in the earth
Their two lives were in jeopardy
They ran for all their worth
The Dad survived, his son was crushed
beneath.the the earthen mound
Despite attempts at C.P.R.
A pulse could not be found.
They bore his body up the shaft
to the city that never sleeps.
Where his poor father, suddenly old,
a lonely vigil keeps.
on 11/18/2011, A young "Sandhog, Excavating for a train tunnel deep beneath Park Avenue in Manhattan was crushed in a landslide and died in his father's arms. A Sandhog is a person who digs tunnels for trains and motor vehicles. They have been part of the New York Scene for over 130 years. There would be no modern New York without their toil and sacrifice
John F McCullagh
Written by
John F McCullagh  63/M/NY
(63/M/NY)   
964
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