Wednesday, November 23, 2011

1976-1978: mankato, minnesota

The day before Thanksgiving.  In the U.S., it is maybe the busiest travel day of the year, everybody getting back to where they once belonged.

My first real-life experience with the madness of the day before Thanksgiving was back in 1976, my first winter in Minnesota.  While in college, I had a part-time job at the Greyhound bus terminal, selling tickets, loading luggage onto busses, that sort of thing.  On that day there were incredible lines -- mostly kids leaving the university for the long weekend -- overcrowded luggage compartments, freezing temperatures outdoors, exhaust fumes.... And then I'd be coming back the next day to work again, on Thanksgiving Day, because the bus runs 365 days a year, you know.  The big difference between the days is that nobody travels on Thanksgiving.  Feast and famine at the bus depot, the famine coming when everybody is elsewhere feasting.

'Hope you have a great Thanksgiving, wherever you end up.

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