Chapter 13
“Chattanooga Choo Choo”
Endicott, New York – 1941
Bea was at a very happy junction in her life. Virgil was no longer annoying her because he had just found a sassy wife, all the while retaining a full head of hair.
As if to underscore Bea’s upbeat mood, a new song by Glenn Miller, “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” was always playing on the radio, so she was able to sing and dance about the office while Virgil was on his honeymoon in Poughkeepsie. (That destination choice alone confirmed she had made the right decision about not marrying such a lackluster suitor.)
In two weeks, Bea would have vacation time, so she was planning to take her little sister Gracie, now seventeen and ready to leave home by any means of transportation, on an excursion to New York City. Neither of them had e
