Saturday, April 27, 2024

A Real Live Steamroller...Finally Saw One


 The first genre I began writing was steampunk. Admittedly, I am not knowledgeable on the technical end of steam-powered engines. Even though, I enjoyed early success in writing steampunk short stories. It's a fascinating subject with almost endless creative possibilities. 

Steampunk obtains its power through steam (duh...). The energy created by heated water can literally move mountains. Without steam technology the United States of America could not have expanded they way it did. Our history--everything we know about the industrial revolution--disappears, changes forever.

And yesterday I saw a real live steamroller.

I think I was like most boys growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. Large machines enthralled us. We knew what a bulldozer was, a backhoe, a dump truck, a grader, and, of course, steamrollers. I know the term steamroller and I know they no longer run on steam, but I still call them steamrollers. A quick internet search calls them road rollers or just rollers. Maybe in the future the word "steam" will disappear entirely.

As we left Red's Old 395 Grill (delicious food, by the way...), I glanced to the left. If you've been inside this place in Carson City, Nevada, it's a feast not only for the stomach, but also the eyes. It seems every square inch is covered in art, historic objects, cutter sleighs hanging from the ceiling, and yes, an incredibly huge steamroller...

That one time ran on steam.

I miss steampunk. I haven't written anything in the genre for years. I ought to jump back in, a short story, maybe something more. Like I said, maybe one day they'll eliminate steam from steamroller permanently. I hope that never happens. It makes us remember the history and how important steam power was for the world.

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