Chapter 4 Joe Patroni

Joe Patroni, as Mel now knew, was on his way to the airport. He

had left his home, which was 25 miles from the airport, 20

minutes before, but he was making slow progress through the

thick snow.

In the end the traffic stopped moving altogether. He lit a cigar.

Many stories were told about Joe Patroni.

He had begun his working life as a motor mechanic in a

garage. One day he won an old plane from someone in a card

game. Without any help he repaired it and taught himself how to

fly it. He studied at night school and went to work for TWA as a

plane mechanic.

Soon everyone knew that he was the best mechanic TWA

had. Whenever there was an urgent or difficult repair job, they

called Joe Patroni. He never wasted time and always told people

exactly what he thought, regardless of how important the person

he was talking to might be.

Now he was TWA maintenance chief at Lincoln

International. He had been successful in another way, too. He had

married the most beautiful air hostess in TWA. Many people

were surprised when Marie married a mechanic, but now, twelve

years later and with three children, they still loved one another.

Patroni waited for five minutes. Then he turned on the radio.

He waited another five minutes and then decided to get out of

the car.

Someone called out: 'What's happened?' and another voice

replied: 'There's been an accident.'

Further along the road he found the reason for the delay. A

sixteen-wheel heavy goods vehicle was lying on its side in the

road. The police were trying to pull it off the road with a

breakdown truck.

Patroni walked straight up to a policeman. 'You'll never move

that sixteen-wheeler with one truck,' he said. 'Never in a million

years.'

'Oh no?' the policeman replied. 'There's petrol on the road.

You'd better put that cigar out.'

Patroni took no notice of his advice, and continued 'What you

ought to do is this-'

The policeman did not need to listen for long before he

realized that this man knew what he was talking about. Ten

minutes later Joe Patroni was in control of the whole operation.

Two more breakdown trucks were on their way, and chains were

being put around the damaged vehicle.

As he worked, Patroni felt increasingly worried about the

situation at the airport, where he knew that he was badly needed.

But helping to clear the road, he thought, is probably the most

useful thing I can do now. I can't get to the airport until the road

is clear.

He stopped work to go back to his car and telephone the

airport. There was a message for him from Mel Bakersfeld.

Runway three zero was urgently needed.

When he left the car the snow was still falling heavily. He was

glad to see that the first of the two additional breakdown trucks

had arrived.

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