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Minor, heavy congestion could lengthen the morning commute

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Luzerne County Manager Robert Lawton’s job status up in the air

<p>My buddy Alner was sporting a huge scowl as he unpacked the groceries from the trunk of his car.</p><p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t tell me they were out of organic cranberries again,&#8221; I called out as I crossed the street toward him.</p><p>&#8220;Oh, that&#8217;s really hilarious,&#8221; he snorted. &#8220;I drove to three stores and still couldn&#8217;t find the kind of stuffing I like. I&#8217;ll be too worn out to enjoy Thanksgiving. What a time to be living in.&#8221;</p><p>I guess my eye roll tipped him off, since he suddenly dropped a grocery bag and sprinted for his front door. But I was too quick for him. Within seconds we were strolling down a Wyoming Valley street of the past, thanks to my power of metaphysical travel.</p><p>&#8220;OK, where and when are we?&#8221; he sighed.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s Nov. 23, 1942, exactly 73 years ago right here in our hometown, and just three days before Thanksgiving,&#8221; I said. &#8220;You, my friend, could use a generous helping of thankfulness to go with your green bean casserole.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;OK, I sometimes get carried away,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But you must admit the pace of modern life can get even an optimist like me down. By the way, this street is awfully quiet for holiday time.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;If you mean there aren&#8217;t many cars on the road, you&#8217;re right. That&#8217;s because tire and gasoline rationing are kicking in. A little thing called World War II is going on, and we have to make sure the military gets everything it needs.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve read about that,&#8221; Alner said.</p><p>&#8220;Well these folks are doing more than reading about it,&#8221; I said. &#8220;They&#8217;re living it. You know, every once in a while there&#8217;s a surprise air raid drill. If it happens at night, you douse all the lights, draw the curtains, gather in one room and wait for the all-clear. Now there&#8217;s something that would take the joy out of our 2015 holidays.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a streetcar,&#8221; he said, pointing at the contraption clanking along a set of iron rails.</p><p>&#8220;Families are gathering from far and wide,&#8221; I said. &#8220;Instead of posting photos and comments online, they actually travel and meet face-to-face and enjoy one another&#8217;s company whenever they can.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;That woman getting off is wearing an Army uniform,&#8221; said Alner.</p><p>&#8220;The whole country rallied for the war effort,&#8221; I said. &#8220;She&#8217;s probably got leave to come home for Thanksgiving. But there might still be an empty chair at that family&#8217;s table, with millions of our troops scattered all over the globe to fight the Axis powers.&#8221;</p><p>A thoughtful look crossed Alner&#8217;s face.</p><p>&#8220;They must have been really grateful for what they had,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;They were, even though life was far from easy. By now, food rationing has begun. To get sugar, meat and other staples you have to use books of coupons the federal government issues. No coupons, no goodies.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;In my younger days I would have called that a &#8216;bummer,&#8217;&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;But everybody adapted and did his or her part. On weekends you&#8217;ll see school children going around with coaster wagons to gather cans and other metal for recycling into military needs. They didn&#8217;t have the time to get into trouble. Hey, ready to go back?&#8221;</p><p>Alner nodded, and within a second we were home in 2015.</p><p>&#8220;By the way,&#8221; I said, &#8220;what kind of stuffing was it you wanted?&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Stuffing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Who needs stuffing? This is Thanksgiving, not a cooking show.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Hey, reserve a seat for me,&#8221; I said.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Remember When </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TOM_MOONEY5.jpg</photo0><caption0>Remember When </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Remember When</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history columnist. Reach him at tmooney2@ptd.net.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Remember When: Thanksgiving was a time for heartfelt, family gatherings with great reasons to be thankful