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\qc \li0\ri0\widctlpar\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid3305368 \fs24\lang1033\langfe1033\cgrid\langnp1033\langfenp1033 {\fs22\insrsid3305368\charrsid3305368 A Cross Country Christmas, 1965
\par Owen Christianson
\par Floodwood Minnesota USA
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\par }{\fs22\insrsid14749547 Forty }{\fs22\insrsid10488696 one }{\fs22\insrsid273239 Christmases}{\fs22\insrsid14749547  ago, }{\fs22\insrsid273239 in 1965, I made an unforgettable, roundabout }{\fs22\insrsid14749547 
trip from Monterey California home to La Crosse Wisconsin. }{\fs22\insrsid10488696 With the thrifty way I set about doing it, i}{\fs22\insrsid273239 t isn\rquote t for nothing that my grandmother\rquote 
s name was Katie MacLaren. In those days, if you served in the military, you could catch a free flight on a Military Air Transport System (MATS) plane to wherever it was headed.}{\fs22\insrsid10488696  So i}{\fs22\insrsid273239 f I flew MATS, I\rquote 
d have more money left for buying gifts for my family. Early on the morning of December 22, from Monterey up through a foggy and drizzly San Francisco, I hitched a ride with a friend to }{\fs22\insrsid14749547 the Travis }{\fs22\insrsid10488696 A}{
\fs22\insrsid273239 FB}{\fs22\insrsid14749547 \emdash outside of Sacramento}{\fs22\insrsid273239 . I thought that my chances }{\fs22\insrsid10488696 of a}{\fs22\insrsid273239  flight that would take me within a day\rquote 
s journey of La Crosse Wisconsin were great. Well, I was resolved to wait }{\fs22\insrsid14749547 for a flight\emdash any flight\emdash even one as far away as Michigan or Missouri\emdash 
that would take me as close to Wisconsin as possible. From the terminal window, I\rquote d watch fresh troops mounting the huge 747 troop planes to Nam\emdash 
as caskets were simultaneously being unloaded from the cargo hold. On the tinny muzak that dunned away without let-up, Perry Como sang about being Home for Christmas}{\fs22\insrsid10488696 \emdash }{\fs22\insrsid273239 if only in his dreams. }{
\fs22\insrsid14749547 Bing Crosby }{\fs22\insrsid10488696 dreamed}{\fs22\insrsid273239  about a White Christmas. A}{\fs22\insrsid14749547 nd Elvis Presley about a \lquote Blue\rquote  one. }{\fs22\insrsid10488696 I dreamed about catching a flight\emdash 
any flight. }{\fs22\insrsid14749547 Short on sleep, sweaty, subsisting on junk food, for t}{\fs22\insrsid273239 hree}{\fs22\insrsid14749547  days I waited. And I waited. No fligh}{\fs22\insrsid2377796 ts were heading eastwards. 
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\par }\pard \ql \li0\ri0\widctlpar\aspalpha\aspnum\faauto\adjustright\rin0\lin0\itap0\pararsid4336359 {\fs22\insrsid2377796 F}{\fs22\insrsid14749547 
inally, on Christmas Eve night, half in despair, I caught the nearest flight to the Upper Midwest. On a windowless MATS transport, I crossed the whole continental United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic\emdash all the way to Fort Dix Ne}{
\fs22\insrsid10488696 w Jersey}{\fs22\insrsid14749547 . I still wonder whether the Greyhound ticket agent at }{\fs22\insrsid13898637 Fort Dix, in spite of his tough}{\fs22\insrsid14749547 
 manner, gave me a Christmas-Day-Send-the GI-Home deal on the greyhound ticket from Philly to La Crosse. How come? Well, he asked }{\fs22\insrsid10488696 me,}{\fs22\insrsid14749547  }{\b\i\fs22\insrsid14749547 \'93So woddya got in yuh wallet, troop?\'94}{
\fs22\insrsid14749547  And }{\fs22\insrsid13898637 he just happened to charge me}{\fs22\insrsid14749547  five dollars less. I had it all figured out. Back in 1965, five dollars was a lot of money. I had a big enough breakfast in Philly.
 Christmas morning, we passed through the picture-postcard-pretty Pennsylvania Dutch country, over the snowy Alleghenies, and just as the sun was setting, we pulled into Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Greyhound Bus Terminal\emdash that\rquote 
s where I was going to have my Christmas Dinner. I can still see the red and green tinsel wreathing the cafeteria mirror. \lquote Season\rquote s Greetings!\rquote 
 had been plastered over it in glittering script. Pittsburgh Bus Depot Cafeteria Christmas Dinner Special: Turkey-with-all-the-trimmings and pumpkin pie }{\insrsid14749547 \'e0 la mode}{\fs22\insrsid14749547 : }{\fs22\insrsid10488696 Only $3.65. }{
\fs22\insrsid14749547 Hungry, expectant, I got in line with everybody else, thinking that Pittsburgh Greyhound Bus Depot Christmas turkey would be better than no turkey at all. But just as I was ready to place my order, I heard a gruff voice from
 behind me growling out, }{\b\i\fs22\insrsid14749547 \'93Hey, buddy!\'94}{\fs22\insrsid14749547  }{\fs22\insrsid5404136  }{\fs22\insrsid13898637 There}{\fs22\insrsid5404136  stood}{\fs22\insrsid14749547  a rath}{\fs22\insrsid10488696 
er disheveled looking older man}{\fs22\insrsid14749547 . He went on to say that he hadn\rquote t eaten for a couple days, and could I maybe spare some change. I looked up at the sign: Christmas Dinner: $3.65, looked down at the four one dollar bills
\emdash crumpled in my hand\emdash enough to spare for a modest tip. And I heard my voice saying, }{\b\i\fs22\insrsid14749547 \'93}{\b\i\fs22\insrsid13898637 Why don\rquote t you }{\b\i\fs22\insrsid14749547 have this one on me!\'94}{\fs22\insrsid14749547 
 The four dollars disappeared into the cashier\rquote s hand. And my Christmas Dinner went to my buddy at the bus depot. From Pittsburgh\emdash through Cleveland\emdash Toledo\emdash Chicago\emdash Milwaukee\emdash 
all the way across Wisconsin to La Crosse\emdash as everyone around me was tucking into fried chicken or munching on Christmas cookies, I didn\rquote t have one bite to eat. }{\fs22\insrsid13898637 When I finally arrived}{\fs22\insrsid10488696  home}{
\fs22\insrsid13898637  on the afternoon of December 26}{\fs22\insrsid10488696 , I wasn\rquote t hungry for long. }{\fs22\insrsid13898637 Surrounded by my wondering family, I ate my way through the first of many home-cooked holiday meals. }{
\fs22\insrsid10488696 After all these years, I remember these two strangers I met on that Christmas long ago: the clerk outside of Fort Dix, who, I am convinced, gave me a deal\emdash 
and the hungry stranger in Pittsburgh whose Christmas dinner that good-hearted clerk made possible.}{\fs22\insrsid13898637  }{\fs22\insrsid14749547 
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