This column initially appeared in the December 2019 edition of Gaston Alive! Magazine.
We all have a Christmas story in us. For one kid, it all started with a triple dog dare. And the next thing he knew, his tongue was frozen to the flagpole. You know exactly who I’m talking about. That’s Flick, Ralphie’s friend from the 1983 film A Christmas Story.
The movie is all over TV this time of year, but you can visit him in person anytime you want, if you just so happen to be travelling between Illinois and Indiana on Interstates 80 and 94. He’s stuck right where we remember him best, at the flagpole, only this time he’s parked at the Indiana Welcome Center located in Hammond, Indiana.
Now that’s a stop I would make, if I was up cruising around Lake Michigan. But I’m not, so in the meantime, I’ll have to settle for the boring rest areas and welcome centers on the North Carolina highways and byways instead.