Christmas in Atlantic Canada
Heart-warming Legends, Tales, and Traditions
AUTHOR: Joyce Glasner
FORMAT: 5.5 x 8.5 pb / 128 pages
ISBN-10:1-55153-781-8
ISBN-13: 9781551537818
Christmas is a time for celebrating with friends and family and for sharing stories, memories, and good cheer. This compilation brings to life the very best holiday stories from across Atlantic Canada. From the early days of exploration to the modern day, and from heartwarming inspirational tales to dangerous escapades, this is a collection to treasure for many years to come.
Prologue
They were nearing Moncton when they rounded a corner and
the Chrysler began to fishtail wildly across the snow-covered
highway. Liam Warner’s pulse raced. He gripped the steering
wheel tighter and eased up on the gas pedal. The highway was
barely visible through the driving snow. Once the car was back
under control, he glanced over at his friend in the passenger
seat. Allen Morton flashed him a nervous grin and then looked
at the red cooler in the backseat.
It had been about 10 p.m. on December 15, 2003, when
Liam Warner and Allen Morton left Saint John Regional
Hospital carrying the red, soft-sided cooler with “ORGANS
FOR TRANSPLANT” stencilled on its side. Nested in ice inside
the cooler were two kidneys destined for a transplant recipient
in Halifax. Since the blizzard had grounded all flights in and
out of Saint John, the hospital had appealed to a local cab
company for help in delivering the precious cargo.
Twenty-five-year-old Liam Warner had just returned
to his cab after delivering groceries to a shut-in when the
dispatcher’s voice crackled over the radio. “Do I have a car
willing to take a delivery from Saint John Regional to Halifax
tonight?” the dispatcher asked. Warner had made that run
the week before with a supply of blood, so he knew the drill.
He didn’t think twice before responding. Once the dispatcher
gave him the details, Warner called his wife to let her know he
wouldn’t be home that night. Then he called his friend Morton
and asked if he was up for a wild trip to Halifax.
The two men were in high spirits as they set out on their
journey. Once they were underway, however, Warner realized
the roads were much more treacherous than he’d anticipated.
The storm was so bad that the only other vehicles still on
the road were a few transport trucks. As they crawled along
through whiteout after whiteout, the cabbie grew increasingly
anxious. He’d witnessed a bad accident along this same route
the week before. One slip and they could end up in the same
situation. He was determined to make the delivery and get
back home in one piece. After all, Christmas was just around
the corner and he was looking forward to spending the holiday
with his family.
Conditions through Cobequid Pass were so bad that
Warner began to worry they might not make it. The wipers,
heavily crusted with snow, were all but useless. He had to
strain to see anything up ahead. A faint track where a truck
had passed through a short time before was all that was visible
in the sea of white. Warner hunched over the wheel and
followed the track.
After seven harrowing hours on the road, Warner and
Morton finally arrived in Halifax. They made their way
through the silent, pre-dawn streets to the hospital, where a
team of surgeons was standing by. “You’re right on time!” a lab technician exclaimed as he saw the cabbie come striding
through the doors. A rush of elation surged through Warner as
he handed over the red cooler and headed back out into the
cool morning air.
About the Author
Joyce was born in Hovestadt, Germany, raised in Ottawa, Ontario, and currently calls Halifax, Nova Scotia home. She studied gold and silversmithing at the New Brunswick School of Craft and Design before going on to earn her B.A., with honours in English, at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
She is an editor, freelance writer, and the author of The Halifax Explosion: Surviving the Blast that Shook a Nation (Altitude Publishing 2003); Christmas in Atlantic Canada: Heartwarming Legends, Tales, and Traditions (Altitude Publishing 2004); and Pirates and Privateers: Swashbuckling Stories from the East Coast (Altitude Publishing 2005). Joyce's stories have also been included in the anthologies Christmas in Canada: Heartwarming Legends, Tales, and Traditions (Altitude Publishing 2004), and Holiday Misadventures (Altitude Publishing 2006).
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