The Coal Cars

I was sitting at a train crossing today watching a freight train go by. All the cars were those open coal cars where you can see the coal mounded over the top. Watching them go by and listening to the sound of the wheels clacking on the tracks made me realize how close we are to our ancestors. As different as our world is today from 200 years ago, so many things haven't really changed. 200 years ago they used coal in their fireplaces. A hundred years later, they used coal to power the engines pulling the trains. Today, we use coal to make power. So, in a round about way, we are still using coal to heat our houses!