Transportation

Just after gold fever swept the West--a time when people walked, sailed, or rode horses for months on end to seek their fortune--the question of faster, safer, more reliable transportation between America's East and West Coasts was posed by lawmakers and national leaders. But with 1,800 miles of seemingly impenetrable mountains, searing deserts, and endless plains between the Missouri River and San Francisco, could a transcontinental railroad be built?

The bus driver has to leave for a while, and he makes one request of readers: "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus." It's the height of common sense, but the driver clearly knows this determined pigeon and readers do not — yet.

"Hey, can I drive the bus?" asks the bird, at first all sweet reason, and then, having clearly been told no by readers, he begins his ever-escalating, increasingly silly bargaining. "I tell you what: I'll just steer," and "I never get to do anything," then "No fair! I bet your mom would let me."

Our nation's unique identity has been formed, in large part, by the monuments and landmarks we have erected. Structures such as the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis or the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., stand today as permanent reminders of the people and events that have built a strong America. Many of these structures made history even as they were created -- most integrated the latest in design and technology and required the skills of thousands of workers.