Grand Central Station 49-12-24 Miracle for Christmas

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Grand Central Station 49-12-24 "Miracle for Christmas"

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: Grand Central Station 49-12-24 Miracle for Christmas
Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Original Air Date of Story: December 24, 1949

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Episode Overview

This episode features the annual Christmas special from the classic radio series "Grand Central Station," titled “Miracle for Christmas.” The story centers on Dr. Mason, a mysterious young doctor who arrives on Christmas Eve to assist at a city hospital strained by a lack of staff. Through a series of ambulance calls with the world-weary driver Mac, Dr. Mason brings unexpected healing and hope, revealing themes of mercy, redemption, and the true spirit of Christmas. Interwoven with elements of the miraculous and the bittersweet, the episode is a heartfelt reflection on service, sacrifice, and compassion.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

Setting the Scene (03:51–05:11)

• Grand Central Station on Christmas Eve: The story opens with a poetic narration about the hustle and bustle of New York’s Grand Central Station as Christmas approaches, setting a hopeful yet somber atmosphere.
• Introduction of Dr. Mason: A young, almost ethereal man arrives, unnoticed, and heads directly for the hospital.

"No, not a single person actually saw the young man with soft brown hair and soft brown eyes come through the gate." (03:51, Narrator)

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The Hospital in Crisis (05:11–06:27)

• Unusual Arrival: Dr. Mason’s arrival is clouded in mystery—despite a telegram reporting his death, he appears in Dr. Garrett’s office, calm and purposeful.
• Staffing Shortages: Dr. Garrett laments the lack of doctors in the poor district, especially pressing on Christmas Eve.
• Dr. Mason Volunteers: Mason joins the team, immediately preparing to respond to emergency calls.

"These are the slums. Walk through block after block and you won't see a doctor shingle...They know only one healer, the intern and his ambulance." (05:52, Dr. Garrett)

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The Ambulance Driver, Mac (06:35–08:05)

• Mac’s Cynicism: The seasoned ambulance driver, Mac, is bitter and tired, seeing his job as thankless and grueling, especially on Christmas Eve.
• Contrast with Dr. Mason: Mason insists the work is sacred, calling the ambulance a “chariot of mercy,” but Mac remains skeptical.

"You green interns, you're all the same. The first time you spy your ambulance, your eyes pop wide like you've seen a heavenly chariot or something." (06:51, Mack)
"An ambulance...is a sacred thing. It is a chariot of mercy." (07:03, Dr. Mason)

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First Call: The Drunk in the Street (08:11–11:19)

• Mac’s Prediction: Mac expects the call to be a routine pickup of an inebriated man—"a stew."
• Mason’s Compassion: Rather than treating the man with disdain, Dr. Mason restores his sense of dignity with kindness and encouragement.

"Any man who cries out for help, whether he be brim full of drink or empty of blood, his call shall be answered." (08:48, Dr. Mason)

• Mysterious Healing: The man, Pete, stands up sober and emboldened, crediting Dr. Mason’s “wonderful medicine,” though Mason used little more than words and a supportive touch.

"Gosh, Doc, that's sure wonderful medicine you give me." (10:25, Pete)

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Second Call: The Crippled Child (13:55–18:07)

• A Christmas Birth: Their next call takes them to a family anxiously awaiting the birth of their child. The baby is born with what appear to be severely twisted arms.
• Moment of Despair: The parents are grief-stricken, their prayers for a joyful Christmas dashed.
• Miraculous Recovery: Mason examines the baby, and the twisted arms are suddenly discovered to be perfectly normal.

"What about the kid's arms?"
"They're straight. Straight as arrows. So what? But before, they were terribly twisted... I swear they were twisted." (16:47–17:00, Father & Mac)

• Mason’s Reassurance: He encourages the parents to have hope and to “go in and tell your wife truthfully that her baby is normal in every way.” (17:30, Dr. Mason)

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A Warning of Mystery (18:25–19:10)

• The Telegram’s Truth Revealed: Dr. Garrett receives confirmation that Dr. Mason was, in fact, reported dead hours before. The implications are left unspoken, deepening the mystery of Mason’s presence.

"Dr. Mason was killed, do you hear me? Three hours before you walked into my office. He was killed while driving to the Albany railroad station. And his mother saw him die." (18:49, Dr. Garrett)

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The Most Personal Call (19:10–22:19)

• Mac’s Crisis: Their next emergency is in Mac’s own neighborhood. Mac’s wife, Ellie, is the patient in need.
• Duty vs. Despair: Mac struggles with his duty as an ambulance driver while his personal life is in crisis. Mason urges him to continue helping others, reflecting the theme of self-sacrifice during hardship.
• Ellie’s Condition: At the hospital, Mac discovers Ellie has slipped into a coma and may be dying.

“While I'm out with the crate, my wife calls for me. And now she's unconscious. Think of others... because it's Christmas Eve. What do you gotta say now, Mason?” (22:54, Mac)

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Reflection, Redemption, and the Final Miracle (23:20–27:37)

• Mac Wrestles with Sorrow: Grief-stricken, Mac lashes out at Mason, questioning the value of his years of service and self-sacrifice.
• Mason’s Words of Comfort: Mason shifts the perspective on Mac’s “rotten years," revealing their deeper purpose.

“You should glory in them. Eight years of bringing a healer to the suffering. Eight years of rushing the torn and the smashed to the hands of the mender.” (24:49, Dr. Mason)

• A Subtle Transformation: As Mason speaks, Mac reflects on his life with renewed pride and purpose, his pain eased by Mason’s presence and words.
• Going Home: Mason offers to walk Mac home.
• The Porch Light: Mac recalls how Ellie would always leave a porch light on, waiting for his return.

“She'd go out and put on a porch light...stand outside there waiting for her shining knight returning from his errands of mercy.” (26:19–26:43, Mac & Dr. Mason)

• The Final Miracle: Arriving home, Mac finds the porch light on and Ellie, alive and waiting for him. Mason vanishes, his role complete.

“The light. A porch light. It's on. Mason, your eyes. Mason. Mason, where are you?” (27:17, Mac)
“Night. Night. It's Ellie. Ellie, darling, it is you. Thank God.” (27:42, Mac)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments with Timestamps

• On compassion:
  “Any man who cries out for help, whether he be brim full of drink or empty of blood, his call shall be answered.” – Dr. Mason (08:48)

• On service:
  “You should glory in them. Eight years of bringing a healer to the suffering.” – Dr. Mason (24:49)

• On sacrifice:
  “Think of others, he said, because it's Christmas Eve. What do you gotta say now, Mason?” – Mac (22:54)

• The mysterious truth:
  “Dr. Mason was killed, do you hear me?...And his mother saw him die.” – Dr. Garrett (18:49)

• The miracle at home:
  “The light. A porch light. It's on. Mason, your eyes. Mason. Mason, where are you?” – Mac (27:17)

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Summary | |-----------|------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 03:51 | Dr. Mason’s Arrival | A mysterious doctor arrives on Christmas Eve | | 05:13 | Hospital in Crisis | Staff shortages, Dr. Mason volunteers to help | | 06:35 | Mac the Ambulance Driver | Mac’s cynicism, sets tone for central conflict | | 08:11 | First Call: “The Drunk” | Mason demonstrates healing compassion | | 13:55 | Second Call: “The Crippled Child” | The Christmas miracle healing the baby | | 18:25 | Dr. Garrett Learns The Truth | Revelation of Dr. Mason's supposed death | | 19:10 | Mac's Own Family Crisis | Mac's wife, Ellie, becomes the next emergency call | | 23:20 | Mac's Regret and Mason’s Comfort | Reflection on service and renewed purpose | | 26:43 | The Porch Light & Final Miracle | Ellie is miraculously alive, porch light on |

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Tone & Style

The episode blends the sentimental warmth of a Golden Age radio drama with a poignant exploration of Christmas themes. The earnest, occasionally poetic script is delivered with gravitas by the cast, mixing gritty realism with supernatural undertones reminiscent of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Dr. Mason’s mysterious benevolence and Mac’s emotional journey stand out, offering listeners both nostalgia and a timeless Christmas message.

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Conclusion

“Miracle for Christmas” is a powerful radio drama that elevates everyday acts of mercy, exploring the intersections between sorrow, compassion, and redemption. Dr. Mason’s mysterious presence brings comfort and healing, reminding both the suffering and the weary of the enduring meaning of Christmas—service, hope, and the possibility of miracles.

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For Fans of Classic Radio:
This episode is a quintessential example of mid-20th-century American radio drama—complete with rich sound design, moving performances, and a story both intimate and universal.

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Featured Cast:

• Ralph Clanton as Dr. Mason
• Gilbert Mack as Mac
• Walter Griset as Dr. Garrett
• Madeline Pierce as the baby
• Narration by Ken Roberts
• Music by Luke White and Burley Mills

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“Only when the true spirit of Christmas stays with us every day shall we know the peace on earth that angels sang about so long ago.”
— Galen Drake sharing Philip W. Pillsbury’s Christmas message (28:56)

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Transcript

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[Narrator]

From new york, pillsbury's best enriched flower brings you grand central station. All aboard for modern baking. You're on the right track.

[Dr. Garrett]

With Pillsbury.

[Narrator]

Greatest name in flower. As a bullet seeks its target. Shining rails in every part of our great country are aimed at Grand Central Station, heart of the nation's greatest city. Drawn by the magnetic force of fantastic metropolis. Day and night, great trains rushed on the Hudson river, sweep on its eastern bank for 140 miles, clash briefly by the long Red row terminoside of 125th Street. Dive with a roar into the Twin Wak Mount Tunnel, which borrows the bitter and swank of Park Avenue. And then Grand Central Station, crossroads of a million private lives, a gigantic stage in which are played a thousand dramas daily. Now, for the sixth consecutive year, Pillsbury Mills of Minneapolis presents with pride Grand Central Station's traditional Christmas play. A drama you will long remember.

[Galen Drake]

This is Galen Drake. And before we get into our Christmas story, I want to say just a word about the three top prize winning recipes in Pillsbury's Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest. The grand prize was awarded for a recipe for Pillsbury's $50,000. No need water rising twist. The second prize of $10,000 was for Starlight Mint surprise cookies. And the third prize of $4,000 was for a chocolate cake, Aunt Carrie's Bonbon cake. Now there's $64,000 worth of prize winning recipes. Recipes won with Pillsbury's Best Flour. Now, as you know, you always bake.

[Dr. Mason]

Your best with Pillsbury's best.

[Galen Drake]

And. And we have those three recipes ready for you now and we'll be glad to send them to you. You just drop a penny postcard to Ann Pillsbury, Prize Recipe Department, Minneapolis 2, Minnesota. And she'll send you your copy. Ann Pillsbury Prize Recipe Department, Minneapolis 2, Minnesota.

[Narrator]

After the train from Albany pulled in, no, not a single person actually saw the young man with soft brown hair and soft brown eyes come through the gate. Still unseen, he walks the length of the great waiting room. Now strangely tranquil as travel ebbs on Christmas Eve. Quietly, he Goes out the door, down the street and then up the broad marble stairs of the hospital. When the girl switchboard turns to him.

[Hospital Staff]

What can I do for you, sir?

[Narrator]

Without saying a word, he gives her a card. She's startled by the name on it and instantly announces him to the hospital superintendent.

[Hospital Staff]

Dr. Mason is here to see you.

[Dr. Garrett]

Mason? Dr. Mason who applied for an internship.

[Hospital Staff]

Yes, Dr. Garrett. It is Dr. Mason from Albany.

[Mac]

But that.

[Dr. Garrett]

But that's impossible.

[Hospital Staff]

Shall I ask him about the telegram?

[Mac]

No, no, no, no.

[Dr. Garrett]

I'll do it. Send him in, please.

[Hospital Staff]

Yes, sir. Dr. Garrett will see you, sir. First door to the left.

[Dr. Mason]

Doctor Garrett.

[Dr. Garrett]

Dr. Mason. You are Dr. Mason?

[Dr. Mason]

I'm sorry that I was delayed, Dr. Garrett.

[Dr. Garrett]

Well, I. But just ten minutes ago, I.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes? Ten minutes ago you received a telegram.

[Dr. Garrett]

Well, that's right.

[Mac]

I know.

[Dr. Garrett]

Your mother.

[Dr. Mason]

I know.

[Dr. Garrett]

But, man, I. Why, look at it. It says that you.

[Dr. Mason]

That I was killed. Do you mind if I tear up that telegram, Dr. Garrett?

[Dr. Garrett]

Well, I. I don't understand. I was so unnerved by that wire, I. I counted so much on your being here tonight.

[Galen Drake]

Christmas Eve.

[Dr. Garrett]

A night always busy with calls.

[Dr. Mason]

You are short of interns.

[Dr. Garrett]

Oh, yes, Mason. These are the slums. Walk through block after block and you won't see a doctor Shingle.

[Mac]

Not one.

[Dr. Garrett]

The people here are too poor. They know only one healer, the intern and his ambulance.

[Dr. Mason]

And tonight, night of mercy and goodwill, they would have cried out in vain.

[Dr. Garrett]

Well, now that you come, I won't have to say to the suffering, wait, wait. There's only one ambulance tonight, and that's.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Out on a call.

[Dr. Garrett]

Wait and suffer. I have no one to send to you because Dr. Mason was killed. It's good that you're here, Mason. It's good.

[Dr. Mason]

It's good to be here, Dr. Garrett.

[Dr. Garrett]

Well, you better get started. Take this slip down to the storeroom. See that they give you a warm sheepskin coat.

[Dr. Mason]

Thank you.

[Dr. Garrett]

And a pair of mittens. From there, you go to the ambulance room. I'll have your driver waiting for you. His name is Mac.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

My name is Mack. The chief says I drive you crate tonight.

[Dr. Mason]

Crate?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Crate, Jalopy, sick, buggy, ambulance.

[Dr. Mason]

Take your pick. Oh, I see what you mean.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

You green interns, you're all the same. The first time you spy your ambulance, your eyes pop wide like you've seen a heavenly chariot or something.

[Dr. Mason]

Not me.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

I've been driving this old baby for eight rotten years.

[Dr. Mason]

An ambulance, Mac, is a sacred thing. It is a chariot of mercy.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Oh, two belts that says, come on, Mason. That's your first call.

[Hospital Staff]

234 South Street, 234 South Street, 234 South Street.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Look, pal, help me out by watching out for cars cutting in at the cross streets. We don't stop for no red lights.

[Mac]

Lock. Doc.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

What did I tell you? Watch it. Or what? Folks be killed. Holy cow. You no interns. You're all alike. You're always dreaming. You put on a white coat and pants and your head goes up in the clouds.

[Dr. Mason]

Why are you so bitter, Mac?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Why shouldn't I be bitter? It wasn't for you, I'd be home with the wife right now.

[Dr. Mason]

You truly believe that only because of me? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

If you hadn't showed up, this ambulance would be parked in the garage. For crying out loud. I would have had the night off. Like on a decent job.

[Dr. Mason]

To you, driving an ambulance is just a job like any other.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Yeah, nothing but. Boy, will I be glad when the shift is over.

[Dr. Mason]

But, Mac, this is Christmas Eve. You're telling me this is one night at least you could forget that driving an ambulance is a job. This one night, you could look upon it as an errand of mercy.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

An errand of mercy? You know where we're going?

[Dr. Mason]

To help someone afflicted.

[Narrator]

Afflicted?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Afflicted with alcohol, you mean. I'll give you two to one and we're making a stew.

[Mac]

Call.

[Dr. Mason]

Stew call.

[Mac]

Yeah.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Mason, we're risking our next staring through traffic to give some drunk a whiff of smelling sobs.

[Dr. Mason]

Any man who cries out for help, whether he be brim full of drink or empty of blood, his call shall be answered.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Yes, says you.

[Mac]

Okay.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Come on, Mason, make a snack. Wake out all night.

[Mac]

Get up.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

By a chance.

[Dr. Garrett]

Let him get up.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Why did I tell you no?

[Mac]

Good. Trunk.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Here's your bag, Doc.

[Dr. Mason]

Thank you, Mac. I won't need it.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

But he's out cold, Mason. Come on, give him a whiff at the stuff.

[Dr. Mason]

Quick.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

When we blow.

[Dr. Mason]

Quiet, Mac. Come now, open your eyes, sir, because the drunk.

[Mac]

Sir. Mark.

[Dr. Mason]

Mason.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Here's the spirit of ammonia. Hold it under his nose, will you? That always wakes him up.

[Narrator]

Quiet.

[Dr. Mason]

N. Come, sir. Open your eyes.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

That's right, Mason. You just talk pretty to him and he'll open his eyes.

[Mac]

Where am I? Where am I? Why is that everybody laughing? Wish him badly.

[Dr. Mason]

Nothing, nothing. Just put your arm around my shoulder. That's it. Now let me help you to stand up straight. There.

[Galen Drake]

Now he's all making you feel better.

[Mac]

Why, suddenly I feel all right. I feel fine, my head is so clear.

[Dr. Mason]

Of course, of course. All you needed was to stand on your own two feet. To be strong, be of good cheer.

[Mac]

Gosh, Doc, that's sure wonderful medicine you give me.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

So what kind of gag you pulling? He didn't give you no medicine. There was nothing the matter with you. You toss off a beer and you lay down in the street like you're out calling. We waste an ambulance on you. I got a mind to take a poke at you.

[Dr. Mason]

That'll be enough, Mac. Tell me, sir, what is your name?

[Mac]

Well, if it's all saying to you.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Come on, come on, come on, come on, give me your name. He's got to make out his report.

[Mac]

Pete.

[Dr. Mason]

Lantern. Dusty. Peter, you won't lose faith again. You will stand up self reliant and you will face life courageously and with new hope.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Come on, Mason, hang out all night. Let's get going.

[Mac]

Doc. Doc.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes, Peter?

[Mac]

Merry Christmas to you, Duck.

[Dr. Mason]

Thank you, sir.

[Dr. Garrett]

Doctor Mason. Dr. Mason, I'd like to speak to you. Yes, Mason. Mack tells me you didn't even open your bag on your first call.

[Dr. Mason]

No, it wasn't necessary.

[Dr. Garrett]

Well, now, don't misunderstand me, Mason. I. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that you're with us this evening.

[Mac]

But.

[Dr. Mason]

But from now on, I'm not to use suggestion or whatever it was you did use.

[Dr. Garrett]

Please follow standard materia medica in treating your cases.

[Mac]

We.

[Galen Drake]

You're.

[Dr. Garrett]

You're not offended?

[Dr. Mason]

Of course not.

[Dr. Garrett]

Well, that's fine, Dr. Mason.

[Mac]

That.

[Dr. Garrett]

Oh, that's your call again.

[Hospital Staff]

Third floor, 19 Water Street. Third floor, 19 Water street, third floor.

[Jan from Toyota]

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[Toyota Announcer]

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[Dr. Mason]

Well, Mac, you seem to be good at guessing. You were right the last time. What sort of call is this one going to be?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

There's no guessing. It's experience. This time it's no drunk.

[Mac]

Oh.

[Dr. Mason]

What do you think it is?

[Mac]

A bite?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Or maybe a debt.

[Dr. Mason]

Christmas Eve and someone is to live or die. It is better that one should live on Christmas Eve, Mac. Let it be a birth we're going to.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

There's no difference to me, Jack.

[Mac]

A fighter.

[Dr. Mason]

A debt.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

I just try.

[Dr. Mason]

How long have you been doing it, Mac?

[Mac]

Ah. Oh.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Like I told you, eight rotten years. That's how long what you call eight.

[Dr. Mason]

Rotten years were truly eight glorious years filled with service to your fellow men.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Cut the ch, Mason. This is it. Number 19 at the Red brick house upstairs. Come on, make a snappy third floor rear.

[Narrator]

Doctor.

[Mac]

Doctor. Here.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Keep your shine on with coming even.

[Mac]

If you hear me.

[Dr. Mason]

Tears on Christmas Eve.

[Mac]

Young man, I'm afraid you're too late.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

You thought it'd be a place. You're wrong, Mason.

[Dr. Garrett]

It sure looks.

[Mac]

Wait, Mac, don't say it. No, no.

[Narrator]

Perhaps we're not too late.

[Dr. Mason]

Tell me, how is the mother?

[Mac]

She's all right. But our baby.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes, your baby.

[Mac]

Crippled. Terribly crippled. I. We prayed for our child to be born on Christmas Eve. We thought we'd be so happy tonight.

[Dr. Mason]

Come now, come. No tears, not on Christmas Eve. I'll have a look at the infant. Wake your boy.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Make a snappy, Mason. That garret's always nervous. When all the amulets arrived. It's only 9 o'.

[Mac]

Clock.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Hey, what's the idea of bringing a kid out here?

[Mac]

Let me hold him, Doctor, please. Of course. There.

[Dr. Mason]

There you are. Ah, the child knows his father.

[Mac]

Yes, he knows me. He knows. But he'll hate me when he's old enough to realize it. Doctor.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes?

[Mac]

His arms. His arms.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

What about the kid's arms?

[Mac]

They're straight. Straight as arrows. So what? But. But before they were terribly twisted. Both his arms were terribly crippled.

[Dr. Mason]

You can see for yourself the child is normal.

[Mac]

But. But I tell you, before when I looked at. I swear they were twisted.

[Dr. Mason]

And now you were under great tension. Perhaps your imagination.

[Mac]

Oh, My little son. Aren't his tiny fingers so tiny?

[Dr. Mason]

Now, go in and tell your wife truthfully that her baby is normal in every way. Show her.

[Mac]

Yes, yes, we both look forward to.

[Dr. Mason]

A happy Christmas Eve.

[Galen Drake]

It is.

[Dr. Mason]

Remember, tears are not for Christmas Eve.

[Mac]

Hey.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Ah, come on, Mason. Forget all that good fairy stuff. This fella's hopped up enough as is. Let's go.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes, Mac.

[Mac]

Oh, Doctor.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes.

[Mac]

Merry, Merry Christmas, Doctor.

[Dr. Mason]

Thank you. A merry Christmas to you, sir.

[Dr. Garrett]

Mason. Dr. Mason.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes, Dr. Garrett you've been looking for.

[Dr. Garrett]

Yes, sir.

[Dr. Mason]

Only one bell.

[Narrator]

Go on, Dr. Garrett.

[Dr. Garrett]

Well, I must speak to you, Mason, about. About the telegram. Yes, the telegram which said that Dr. Mason was killed. The one you said was a mistake.

[Dr. Mason]

Did I?

[Dr. Garrett]

Dr. Gary, I've just spoken to the center of that telegram. I have just finished talking to Dr. Mason's mother on the long distance telephone.

[Dr. Mason]

That's my call. I'm sorry, I must go now.

[Dr. Garrett]

Wait, wait, man.

[Narrator]

Wait.

[Dr. Garrett]

I want to talk to you. Listen to me, please. Dr. Mason was killed, do you hear me? Three hours before you walked into my office. He was killed while driving to the Albany railroad station. And his mother saw him die.

[Dr. Mason]

Well, Mac, what is this call going to be? A birth or a death?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

I don't know, Mason, but I don't like this one. There's something about this call. It give me a funny kill all.

[Dr. Mason]

Of a sudden because it's in your neighborhood.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

What do you think this call is going to be?

[Dr. Mason]

Because it is your wife, Ellie? Is this job a rotten job, Mac, now that you can rush a doctor to her side? Is this ambulance killer crate now that it's speeding to answer your own wife's cry of pain?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Stop that kind of talk, will you? You're trying to make me think something's happenelli. I ain't afraid. I'll say it again, dad. Driving this crate is still a job, and a bum one at that.

[Galen Drake]

And the eight years.

[Mac]

Rotten years, wasted years.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Could have had my own garage and repair business. I'd be in the chips today instead of.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes, you would have made more money.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Instead of risking my neck driving all night, twisting in and out of elp pillars, skidding on slippery car tracks.

[Dr. Mason]

Why, Mac? Why did you do it?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

How many times I gotta tell you that nothing in this whole cockeyed world could have kept me sitting back of this wheel except my wife if it wasn't for Elliot.

[Dr. Mason]

What's the matter, Beck? Nothing, I guess.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

That house we just passed, that was ours.

[Galen Drake]

And the lights are out.

[Dr. Mason]

Is that unusual?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Just means Ellie ain't Home. She's probably going down to the corner as far as the drugstore. Yeah, Ellie walks the dog there every night about the this time.

[Mac]

And. And. Yes, Mac, the call we're going to. Here's that drugstore.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes, ma'.

[Mac]

Am.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Mason, you got a hunch what it.

[Mac]

Is, tell me what it is.

[Dr. Mason]

It is not a birth, Mac.

[Mac]

Let me through. Let me throw. I get it. Ellie. Ellie, it's Ellie. Mason, do something. You gotta do something. Please. Please.

[Dr. Mason]

We will take her to the hospital.

[Galen Drake]

Neck.

[Hospital Staff]

812 East River Road.

[Dr. Mason]

Come, let's get ready.

[Galen Drake]

The next call will be ours.

[Hospital Staff]

812 East River Road.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes, you heard. The other ambulance just went out.

[Mac]

Are you crazy? My wife is upstairs in the oper and you expect me to leave the hospital to go out and drive?

[Dr. Mason]

There are people who need us, Mac. Our work tonight is not yet finished.

[Mac]

But Ellie needs me. What do I care about other people?

[Dr. Mason]

There are people, Mac, who will cry out for help as your wife did. We will answer.

[Narrator]

Stop me.

[Mac]

I ain't moving.

[Dr. Mason]

It is Christmas Eve, Mac.

[Mac]

Christmas Eve. What a Christmas present I got.

[Hospital Staff]

64 West Street.

[Dr. Mason]

It's our turn, Matt.

[Hospital Staff]

64 West Street.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

All right, Mason, but this is my last trip for the night.

[Mac]

No, not for the night.

[Narrator]

Forever.

[Mac]

I'm through, do you hear? All washed up for good.

[Dr. Garrett]

I'm terribly sorry, Mac. We did the best that we Dying.

[Mac]

Ellie's dying and I.

[Galen Drake]

She.

[Dr. Garrett]

She asked for you, Mac. Just once was while you were out on that west street call. Then she elapsed into coma.

[Mac]

Ellie. Ellie. Isn't there a chance, Doc Garrett? I. I doubt it. While I'm out with the crate, my wife calls for me. And now she's unconscious. Think of others. Think of others, he said, because it's Christmas Eve. What do you gotta say now, Mason? You took me from me. You made me go out and drive that rotten ambulance while. Shoot. Shoot.

[Dr. Mason]

You went to help others. To bring aid to the suffering.

[Mac]

What a consolation that is.

[Dr. Mason]

Remember how the old woman blessed you with tears in her eyes?

[Mac]

Oh, I can't think of nothing but Ellie's gord. You with your big ideas and your fine speeches. What do you know about sorrow and suffering?

[Dr. Mason]

All that there is to know, My son.

[Mac]

Just now when you. When you said that, for a.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

For a second you got old.

[Mac]

You look more than a thousand years old. I must be seeing things on a. Connelly is leaving me and I'm crazy. Crazy with grief and sorrow.

[Dr. Mason]

Grief and sorrow for you. Yet how much you did to relieve others of that pain.

[Mac]

It's funny, Mason, but. Yes, Mac, when you said those words, I. I thought of my eight years. The eight rotten years. And they didn't seem so bad. Not anymore. Now I.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

Kind of like them.

[Dr. Mason]

Sorrow worketh repentance. You should, Mac. You should glory in them. Eight years of bringing a healer. Healer to the suffering. Eight years of rushing the torn and the smash to the hands of the mender.

[Mac]

Yeah. Your words, they just.

[Narrator]

They just.

[Mac]

They just take the pain right out of me.

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

They just draw it out.

[Dr. Mason]

Now that your work for this night is finished, Mac, I will walk home with you.

[Mac]

Go home while Elliot.

[Dr. Mason]

Yes.

[Galen Drake]

Okay.

[Mac]

If you say so, Mason. But for the life of me, I don't know why I take your word. What a break. What a rotten break I got on Christmas Eve.

[Dr. Mason]

You love her a great deal, don't you?

[Mac]

Yeah. It.

[Dr. Mason]

Soon it will be midnight.

[Mac]

A merry Christmas.

[Dr. Mason]

How did she greet you each night when you returned from your driving?

[Mack (Ambulance Driver)]

How did Ellie.

[Galen Drake]

Why.

[Mac]

Why do you ask that, Mason?

[Dr. Mason]

Tell me, Mac. I want you to say it.

[Mac]

Well, she. Tell me she. She'd like a. Like a happy, anxious kid. She'd go out and put on a porch light. Didn't matter, even if the weather was terrible. I used to ball her out for it. Tell her she'd catch pneumonia, but. But she'd always put on a porch light and stand outside there waiting.

[Dr. Mason]

Waiting for her shining knight returning from his errands of mercy.

[Mac]

As soon as she'd see me come around the next corner, she'd call to me.

[Dr. Mason]

And now will you continue your driving?

[Mac]

Yeah. I'm sticking to it, Mason. Even though Ellie won't be around. I'm sticking.

[Dr. Mason]

This is your corner? Yeah. Look to your house, my son.

[Mac]

The light. A porch light. It's on. Mason, your eyes. Mason. Mason, where are you?

[Dr. Mason]

Look to your house, my son.

[Mac]

No, it. It can't be.

[Jan from Toyota]

Night.

[Mac]

Night. It's Ellie. Ellie, darling, it is you. Thank God.

[Dr. Mason]

Thank God.

[Mac]

And forgive me, I did not know who you were. Sam, you have just heard the sixth.

[Narrator]

Annual Pillsbury presentation of Grand Central Station's traditional Christmas drama. In a moment, I'll return with the names of the players who gave such an inspired performance.

[Galen Drake]

This is Galen Drake bringing you a Christmas greeting from Mr. Philip W. Pillsbury, president of Pillsbury Mills. It reads, throughout the entire world this Christmastide, families are gathered in prayer, festivity. Christmas started when a child was born into a family many centuries ago. And the families of the world have perpetuated the Christmas spirit. Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters united always in the hope that peace on earth, goodwill to men, will someday blanket the world. Only when the true spirit of Christmas stays with us every day shall we know the peace on earth that angels sang about so long ago. I extend a greeting to your family from the people who make up the Pillsbury family. And it's a big family. The farmer who plants the wheat, the employees in our mills and offices, and your grocer, baker and feed dealer who carry our Pillsbury products. We at Pillsbury hope this Christmas will be a true day of joy, that there will be songs and feasting, a family gathered round the table, and a word of prayer, and above all, the laughter of children. For it's the children who will keep Christmas always the day of love and understanding. Signed, Philip W. Kilsberry.

[Narrator]

Our play, Miracle for Christmas was written by Jay Bennett. Our stars, Mason Adams Mac and Ralph Clanton as Dr. Mason. Gilbert Mack was featured as the young father. Walter Griset as Dr. Garrett. Madeline Pierce as the baby with the music by Luke White and Burley Mills. Next week, the tender, affectionate drama of the young reporter whose human interest New Year story never got printed because instead of writing it, he lived it. Our cast is headed by the three top featured players of Broadway's smash hit Death of a Salesman. Cameron Mitchell, Mildred Dunnock and Howard Smith. Now this is your Grand Central Station narrator, Ken Roberts, wishing you for all the Pillsbury folks, a very merry Christmas. This is cbs, the Columbia Broadcasting System.

[Galen Drake]

Stay tuned for stars over Hollywood. It's 1pm White rose tea time. Feeling trophy perk up with white rose tea.

[Jan from Toyota]

Toyota thon. Toyota thon. Toyota thon is on. Oh, what fun it is to drive a new Toyota today. Hey, Jan from Toyota here reminding you Toyotathon is on. Make your holiday wishes come true with a new Camry RAV4 Tacoma and more. All right, let's sing it together this time. Toyota thon. Toyota thon. Toyota thon.

[Toyota Announcer]

Dealer inventory may vary. Toyota Thon ends January 5th. See your participating dealer for details. Toyota let's go places.

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