Hi John,

You may recall that 2009 was an economically rough year for many people. Today's story, published in 2009, comes from the late Kerry Patterson, reflecting on a particularly tough Christmas he experienced in 1956.

We will not publish Crucial Skills December 25 or January 1, so we’ll see you in the new year. May your holidays be warm and bright!
Stumbling on Christmas
by Kerry Patterson

The year 1956 was a hard one for the Patterson family. One evening Dad came home from work at the lumber mill in so much pain he could scarcely drag himself out of the car. He had tripped at work and hurt his back. Worried about his paycheck at the end of the week, Dad pulled himself to his feet and gutted it out until the end of his shift, despite a pain that (we later learned from a coworker) was so gut-wrenching he almost passed out several times.
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