St. Christopher

I went to Catholic high school, but that wasn’t where I learned about St. Christopher. No, for that I have to thank The Bulletboys.

In the middle ages, people believed that travelers could not be killed on a day in which they set eyes on St. Christopher. Naturally, I felt an affinity to the patron saint of travelers, especially after I found out he had been downgraded from a real saint to a folk hero, just because he never actually existed. (The cheek of the church!) On my first real backpacking trip around Europe, I found this little Saint Christopher medallion for something like $2 in a flea market in Wales. For over 20 years, I have worn this medallion every time I travel. I even have my kids trained to kiss the saint before take off whenever we fly.

I don’t really believe in saints – I’m not even Catholic. But I still kind of have a thing for ol’ Chris.