Harry and Madeline Barrow
It was 1982. Our son – Leland – was 4 years old, and our daughter – Anne – was 2. I was working as Director of Admissions at Columbia Theological Seminary, and the four of us were living in Decatur. We had not been to see our parents in Baton Rouge and Shreveport for quite a while, and we were determined to see them for Christmas!
Madeline and I began planning for our trip to Louisiana several weeks before Christmas. The presents were wrapped with care, and we had gathered all the children’s clothes and children’s equipment necessary for a week-and-a-half journey to Louisiana.
As I recall, we planned to leave on a Friday morning. On Wednesday evening, the weather report began to look ominous. An ice and snow storm would soon be rolling across Alabama and into Georgia. After some frenzied discussion, we loaded up our old blue Gran Torino (“The Cruiser Shark”) and moved up our departure time. We were absolutely determined to be with our extended family for Christmas! So, the four of us – Anne and Leland in their car seats – took off on the 10-hour drive to Shreveport!
About three hours down the road, just outside of Birmingham, it started to snow and sleet. Instead of pushing our luck, we began to look for a motel. We saw a Holiday Inn, and as we pulled in the parking lot, I noticed that the “The Cruiser Shark” began to slip and slide. But we made it in to the motel office, got a room, and checked in. The “innkeeper” was hospitable and friendly and, we were thankful to be there! We went to bed early, not knowing what to expect the next morning.
I woke up early, pulled the curtains back, and looked outside to find a “winter wonderland” of snow and ice everywhere! When the children woke up, we went for breakfast. Only one or two employees made it to work at the hotel that day, but they were kind, and we enjoyed visiting with them. We bundled up Leland and Anne, and they had a blast playing in the snow. By necessity, we stayed at the Holiday Inn all day and another night.
The second morning, the Highway Patrol told us that if we could make it about 50 miles down I-20, we would be alright. As I mentioned, we were determined to be with family on Christmas! So, we took off and, slowly but surely, we made it to dry roads and then on to see Madeline’s mother and father in Shreveport, and then my parents in Baton Rouge. So a simple visit to Louisiana had the dramatic elements required of a Christmas memory: a summons to our native land, uncertainty and hardships along the way (remember it was a 10-hour ride with a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old before the advent of video), kindness from unexpected quarters, and a celebration of Christ’s birth at journey’s end. All in all, it was a great reminder of the Christmas story, and it was a Christmas journey we shall not forget!
Newnan Presbyterian Church 