Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself for whatever awaited him in the next room. Not wanting to give away his presence in the dark, Quiggly carefully walked up to the door, raised a hand to knock but instead stopped dead in his tracks, a shocked expression came across his face. "Ah, the prodigal father has returned," a male voice was heard before the door opened. Quiggly immediately recognized the voice as none other than his father's. "Father?...I..how did you get out of jail?" Quiggly began as he stepped into the shack that would once be the place of security for the people of the town but now contained only his father. "Funny," was the father's answer, "just the opposite of what you did. I got what I deserved, and at least the Lord doesn't want nothing from me, so He just let me go." "Oh, Father, I didn't mean what I said." "What you said, son? You don't think you took away the only reason for living that He left me, do you? I will give you the money when you are able to provide me my daily bread, not before. Why, the Lord won't even answer my prayers, so how am I supposed to live? As for the food you stole for me, I ate it, so don't expect your food to make up for your absence." "I know I am wrong, Father. I didn't want to disappoint you, but it is all your fault. I didn't understand that you aren't the kind of person the Lord wants me to be. I couldn't figure out why He loved me if He doesn't love you too. As for the rest of the town, they aren't worth it either. What was the point of you being around here to begin with?" Quiggly said, "I am going to New York to be with my mother." "No you are not. You are going to get me out of this filthy mud hole." For the remainder of the novel read, "Quiggly and the New York City Fool's Paradise". End of book ## The First Place Runner The train pulled out of the station and carried the passengers safely to their destination. The conductor, with a whistle that couldn't be heard over the sound of the moving train, gave his farewell and stepped off, happy to go back home. But a passenger, who was on his way home as well, found himself on the rear of the train, instead of being on board. Now, don't get me wrong. The train was still running and it would still make its destination just like everyone else, it just wasn't going where the conductor wanted to go. "Oh, well, this is embarrassing," the man said to himself as he took a seat next to a window. "I suppose I could sit here and watch the scenery for the rest of the way to my home. I guess it doesn't really matter where I sit." Still not believing he was actually sitting in the wrong spot, he settled into his new seat, watching the scenery as they sped through the tunnel and continued its journey. Suddenly, something strange began to happen as the lights began to go off in the car. People were getting very upset as they looked around for a light switch. But all they could find was a small window for a door. As the people searched for the place that housed the main source of light, one man began to look for another and realized that the passengers were now all sitting in the wrong place. By the time the conductor realized the mistake, everyone was settled down and comfortable. "I guess I'll have to have the other conductor come get me and bring me on board," the man said, "I mean, where I was going just doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference now." All the passengers seemed to agree. The conductor knew that what happened was wrong, but felt he needed to make an appearance before he left for the night. He knew he needed to find the man and give him an apology, saying he had lost track of time and didn't even realize what happened. After the train was on the road, the conductor asked the man if he would have dinner with him. "Well, I don't know," the man said, "I was really looking forward to getting home, but you look like a nice guy and the offer is kind of nice. If you don't mind, I would love to. It's just that I promised myself that I was going to eat dinner in my home this evening, but if you wouldn't mind I would really enjoy your company and a dinner for two. I know this is forward, but I can't wait to get home and eat." The conductor could see that the man was eager to please and that the trip would be more fun with him there. So he invited him to have a seat at the first table that was available and went to get something to eat and take a quick shower. He got dressed again and took his seat at the table that the nice stranger had offered to join him at. There wasn't a lot of conversation going on. But after the dishes were cleared away and the men were both in pajamas, a question arose as to what the man would like to do. He had always wanted to see his grandmother's grave and was curious to see what there was to see. As the pair drove out of the city, they noticed a small gas station off to the right. It was night time, so the place was dark. The man was about to ask the conductor to take him back and find a place to eat when they saw the old lady working the counter and wondered what she was doing there. "Well, I thought it would be a nice surprise for you and a good chance for me to show you around, and this will get us some attention. Besides, she is the only one that can help us if something is wrong. I think she needs the attention, not so much me, but I don't mind going along. So, let's go and see if we can help." The old lady was glad to see the man again and thought she might know him but couldn't put a finger on him. And it was fun having someone new to talk to. In her mind she thought that the best thing that she could do was let the man have her attention, and she would follow his lead. "Hello, there, son," the conductor said, "Are you having a good time traveling with me?" The man agreed that he was and the old lady smiled. He said that he always enjoyed riding trains and she told him that she liked people watching. They shared a laugh over that before she realized the man was having a serious conversation with the conductor. She asked him what the young man had in mind. "Well, you see, we are tired, and we thought we would just go to our home for a nice shower and a good night's sleep. We don't want to tire you. We just wanted to let you know we are stopping at the next stop to see you, and we might want to stop again and spend some time together before you go to sleep. I don't want to wear you out." "Sure. I will be glad to show you where I live and give you the bed you want if it will get you to show up more often and let me be part of the family. What's your name, son? What do you do? Is this your grandma?" The woman questioned. "No, but she is my mother's mother," he said, "I will be more than happy to take you there and put you to sleep. I was worried about having to put you out on the tracks on your way home. But I could just make sure I showed up. You know, I feel so much better about myself now that I know you have forgiven me." "I forgave you?" The woman said, "What did you do, steal something again?" She smiled and let the man know that he had done nothing wrong. The conductor wanted to leave his job and sit down and catch his breath, but the man showed him some concern and asked the conductor what he was going to do. "I am going to let you drive, son, and you and I are going to be riding together for some time. It has been a while since I have taken someone out like this. It's been a long time since I last saw my son." They arrived at the next town and the conductor came back to wake the man from his sleep and take the lady back to her home. The man had fallen sound asleep and was still sleeping when the conductor came back for him. He woke the man and showed him that they were going to walk. "This isn't necessary, son. I can let you take this nice lady wherever you are going and drive myself. I have to run the train tonight and you have business at home, son. Let me run my job." "But you have helped me more than I can ever repay you. Besides, we have to stop by and visit Grandma. I can't let you go without seeing her. She would just get upset about not seeing us." The conductor knew that he could use the old woman's help when the train arrived at its destination. But he could see that the man was determined to see his mother and take her home before he died. There