The Bay Virus

Calm before the storm

June 24th 2009
My name is Harrison Wilbert. I'm an engine driver for a Special Tank Engine. Reggie's his name. I live on a town in the Maryland's eastern shore. We live a good life here, and the town thrives on it's water since it benefits the chicken industry and is good for the townsfolk.
Although there is a bit of a problem. This chicken Industry has been dumping chicken excrement and other toxins into the water. A few other citizens have expressed their concerns for this because it may affect the bay's quality. Some of the engines expressed their concerns as well. I can remember a few days earlier Reggie and Wilbur were in a siding taking on water when they saw the toxins being dumped into the water. Wilbur complained about the stench and smell while Reggie was a bit worried about the water and people. I Agree with what he said, and I hope the mayor does something about it.
What else to add. The 4th of July celebrations are coming, and the whole town is excited for the festivities. I just hope the mayor actually does something about the bay. Anyways, I'm heading to bed. I will update this in the next few days or whenever something interesting happens.

June 26th 2009
Welp, the mayor isn't doing shit to help. So the polluted bay problem I mentioned in the previous entry came up with the mayor yesterday. And the mayor, John Stockman, kept saying the water was perfectly safe, and that we shouldn't worry about it. I call bullshit on that, as it doesn't look very safe. Another reason is that when Mark took water from a pump near the bay, he kept complaining about a growing pain in his tender that soon moved to his boiler. Mark's been taken out of Service for a while for repairs. But we haven't heard from him since he was sent to the works.

June 29th 2009
Reggie's gotten more worried about the celebration. At first he was excited, but now he's just scared about what will happen when the celebrations begin considering some are taking place close to or even at the bay. I've tried to calm him down but Reggie kept insisting he'd only handle slow goods than participate in the parade or festivities. I agreed and talked to the yard manager, and he agreed to let Reggie handle slow goods. I can understand his worries, but Reggie is actually scared of the celebrations. He's never been this scared before. It must be because Mark has been gone for longer than he should've been. It's been 3 days since Mark has been sent to the works. I know steam engines are harder to repair than diesels but still. It's like he's in some sort of quarantine. Whatever is in the water, it mustn't be good. My shift just ended, so I'm going to be heading back home. Once again, I'll update this if something weird happens.

July 2nd 2009
So things are getting very... odd to say the least. No news on Mark since he was taken into repairs. It's almost like he was scrapped... but we know he isn't. Wilbur told Reggie his tender coupling felt a little loose. And a few trucks fell into the water when a diesel was pushing them to pour more chicken excrement and other toxins into the water. To say this celebration might be a bit odd is... a bit scary. But all we can do is hope for the best or prepare for the worst.