Christmas memories

Late-night flower delivery brings special meaning to Christmas

By Karl Hertz (Special to The Criterion)

In the early 1950s, I was a student at Cathedral High School, which at that time was located at 14th and Meridian streets in downtown Indianapolis. Now, the old school building is the archdiocese’s Archbishop O’Meara Catholic Center.

Around the holidays, I delivered flowers for the Drive-In Flower Mart on 16th Street. It was always an adventure.

One year, at Easter, they had all the delivery people dress in white bunny outfits.

Another year, on Christmas Eve, I arrived back at the shop at about 11 p.m. to tell the owners that I was going to Midnight Mass.

As I recall, the owners had gone to Cathedral High School at an earlier time so they knew it was important for me to go to church on Christmas Eve.

However, they said that they needed me to make one more delivery. This time, it was to the mental hospital at the medical center.

I knew that it was going to take me further away from Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Indianapolis, where I planned to attend Midnight Mass.

When I protested, they offered to call my folks and explain, but I did it myself.

The flower arrangements were loaded, and off I went to the hospital.

On the way, I was very curious about my destination because I had never been in such a setting. It was a bleak place, especially on Christmas Eve. There was almost no staff to be found, and I was told to leave the flowers at the nurses’ station.

As I proceeded to do this, several patients saw the flowers. Some of the patients wanted them and even followed me.

Finally, I told the people that I would set the flowers up at the nurses’ station, and that they were for everyone to see but not to move them.

Actually, some of the people scared me.

As I left, the patients were pulling up chairs and sitting quietly to just look at the flowers at the nurses’ station.

Merry Christmas, indeed!

I was late for Midnight Mass, but I have always thought that I had been in the right place. Fortunately for me, my folks agreed.

(Karl Hertz is a member of Lumen Christi Parish in Thiensville, Wis.) †