Susan became a train robber and other assorted tales
How they robbed the train excerpt from the book I am writing on my life and the life of Alan Harris
The staff at the Park decided to work on Western Days. One of the themed events that the park threw every year where everyone dressed up like they were in the old west. It was Susan’s favorite event. Pulling out her Montana belt buckle, her cowboy hat and green western shirt. Latigo around her neck and bandana as well. But this year Susan had a thought, Lauras father owned horses, and they now had a train at the park. How cool would it be to set up to rob the train on horseback during Western Days? And so Susan architected a plan in her mind and then sold Laura on it. They would train two of Lauras fathers’ horses and desensitize them to firing blanks, borrowing a couple pistols to fire those blanks. And then they would outfit the horses with western gear including some breast plates to make sure their saddles stayed on in the hilly back area of Kelly Park. Laura loved the idea and she took it to her Father to sell him, Susan took it to the park management to sell them. The senior staff loved it. Though Susan was not a stunt rider and only eighteen years of age, she knew he way around a horse and used to ride bareback. She figured she could handle any situation that arose on a decently trained horse in the park. Mary Gereau The parks PR woman absolutely loved the idea. She knew she could get the local news to pick up the event with such a high profile stunt. And the other senior staff had confidence that Susan could pull it all off. In some ways even Susan was surprised, she planned and executed it all with ease and no one batted an eye.
In the days leading up to the event Susan and Laura drove out to where Lauras father’s horses were stabled. Susan was given a big bay gelding by the name of Thunder. Thunder was reported to be the better trained and most dead broke of the two. Laura rode a mare that was a bit high strung and came from flightier stock. She looked to be a Percheron. Thunder was a big boy, standing about 16.2 with a stocky build and a generous crest of a neck, he was powerfully built. And he was the largest horse Susan had been on to date. His barrel chest proved to be a knee stretching experience as they shot off the 22 caliber pistols overhead, first with someoneon the ground and from the side shooting them off to get the horses used to the sound causing only slight crow hops. To eventually shooting the pistols with blanks off in hand overhead while mounted. And eventually holstering and unholstering the guns to shoot while riding neck reining at speed, a trick riders maneuver. The horses and Laura and Susan took it in stride and were all made ready.
Susan showed up the day of the big event, in black jeans, a leather vest, her cowboy boots and a black hat she had purchased just for the event. She made sure she had a chin strap on that hat though, because she had little doubt, they would be moving at speed at times.
They pulled the horses out of the trailer and walked them around before saddling them up. And then they took them for a short jog just to get the kinks out. Both of the horses adapted to being in the park fine. Next they rode them alongside the train as it left and came back into the station several times. The train conductors blew the air whistle which created a bit of crow hop buck for a second, but the horses soon settled down. And then everything was at the ready. Susan road over to tell Alan, we are ready to start robbing the train, it was 10:30 AM after all. But Alan tried to get them to delay. He did not have a plan for what the train staff was going to do during the robbing. Though it had been planned that they would stop the train at the bottom of the hill with one horse standing across the tracks (Susan) and Laura riding up along side the train to thrill the passengers.
And so on its next trip back from the museum, Thunder with Susan sitting on his back, 22 pistol in hand was standing across the track facing uphill. Alan waved his hands wildly at Susan as he was coming toward her. But Laura was already in motion coming down the side of the train. And Alan did not slow the train as it swiftly closed the distance between where Susan could see it and Alan. And just as she made the decision to turn her horse around and get off the track Alan opened fire with his pistol armed with blanks. And with that Thunder grabbed the bit, put his head low and ran straight down the tracks in front of the train crow hopping the whole way. The wad from the blank must have hit him in the hip and he was out of control. Lauras father was off to the side yelling, pull that horse to the side, pull that horse to the side. And Susan had his thick neck pulled all the way over to her right boot, Thunder was staring down at the tracks rolling under them. She still had her cocked pistol in her hand and chose to shoot it in the air. This made Thunder accelerate even more. She glanced back and the train was getting dangerously close and Thunder was in danger of going down. Susan holstered her weapon and leaned forward jockey style giving the horse his head to run and they accelerated out off the track and into the meadow beyond leaving the train to the turn up the hill.
It took her a few moments to spin Thunder back down under control as he blew and snorted and danced. He flinched from then on every time he heard the train whistle close or saw it heading toward him.
Susan took stock of the situation as Lauras father came over to talk with her. And Laura rode hell bent for leather up the hill after the train. Finding Alan at the train station shouting “WHAT the hell was THAT?”. “I told you guys we were not ready” Alan said. Laura said, “You never aim a gun with blanks at a person or a horse, you almost killed Susan”. Alan not really understanding what had occurred said, “I thought she looked great!”.
Laura was furious and gave Alan a complete tongue lashing, but then she worked out with him how the robbery would be best for both with safety in mind. She then road back to her friend in the little meadow where Thunder was still doing a bit of a stomp, and Susan had not dared to get down.
“How are you?”, Laura asked. “Oh, I am ok” Susan said,” but I did think we were going to fall on the tracks there for a minute and get hit by a train”. Laura nodded her head. It was as close to a complete disaster as she had ever seen. It had her flustered and she was glad Susan had handled it ok. Their dead broke horse though was not acting so dead broke now though. So they made a new plan of Laura would block the train, not on the tracks and Susan would ride up as close as Thunder would permit. Likely without pulling the 22 because clearly, he was double sensitized.
The rest of the day went off without a hitch, though Thunder would not approach closer than 15 feet of the train, and Alan made the mistake of throwing a money bag of milk cartons in lieu of the loot at them, startling both of the horses to rear up four feet into the air. It may look great to some, but this was not things the girls had trained for or planned on. Still like pros they rode it out.
At the end of the day Susan and Laura rode up to the park entrance and posed for a photo shoot with Mary Gerou for public relations. Those photos would eventually make the San Jose Mercury and other newspapers. And they went up on the Parks memory photo board.
And the girls celebrated their amazing dream of pulling off being stunt women for a day.
The park meanwhile paid for the entire staff to go to a staff party at a western themed restaurant up on Winchester boulevard near the famous Winchester mystery house. The booths in the restaurant looked like covered wagon backs. And the groups broke up into seating for 6. Susan was a bit disappointed that Alan chose to sit somewhere else. But then again, the tension between him and Laura was still high, she had not forgiven him. And Susan sat at a table with her friends Jenny and Laura and they enjoyed stew in a bowl of bread and congratulated each other on another day of fun.
And then the summer party rolled around and Susan sitting next to her mentors had wine once again and was fully relaxed. And this time Alan came looking for her when the rest of the staff went off to get rides on the various rides in the park as it settled in dark. Alan came and claimed her hand. He asked her, “Want to watch the sunset”? She agreed and so they decided to climb up on the deck of the pirate ship snack bar. There at seventeen feet in the air, on the wooden galley deck they looked out across the castle moats and spraying fountains and watched the sun get low. Alan had his fingers entwined with Susans and he turned her to face him. Her eyes had the intensity they always had when they looked at him. She never looked like that at anyone else. He knew because he watched her. And as she looked into his soul he leaned down and kissed her.
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They got themselves dignified dressed, and they joined the other party goers taking rides on the large carousel and Danny the dragon, acting like kids again. And once again, nothing came of it. Neither of them followed up or asked the other out.
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