ON THE SAME DAY OF ISSUE

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33382, 14 November 1973, Page 1

ON THE SAME DAY OF ISSUE

(By

L. R. BLOXHAM)

LOS ANGELES. November 12. Today’s issue of “The Press” replaced the “Los Angeles Times” on a Santa Monica breakfast table early this morning, and three former Christchurch residents who featured prominently on the front page were again able to read “The Press” before setting off to work. Rear-Admiral J. R. Reedy, commander of the United States Antarctic operations at Harewood from 1962 to 1965, Mrs Reedy, and Mr M. Williams, station engineer for Air New Zealand in Los Angeles, received their copies soon after my arrival in Los Angeles at 7 a.m. today. This was possible because of the International Date Line’s creating a 20-hour time difference between the two countries. The exercise involved three days’ planning, the cooperation of Air New Zealand and a Los Angeles public relations firm, and an unshakeable faith in the ability of airlines to keep to their schedules. Mrs Dorothy Furman, president of Furman and Associates, had only six hours to get Admiral and Mrs Reedy and Mr Williams together for the picture when I telephoned her from Christchurch in the early hours of Saturday. But the print was on an Air New Zealand DC 10 bound for Auckland later that day. eventually arriving by N.A.C. in Christchurch late last evening. I left Christchurch with two copies of “The Press” at 10.30 a.m. today (New Zealand time) and caught a connecting flight to Los Angeles from Auckland two hours later. By 3 p.m. I was over the dateline—and, presto, it was yesterday again. 1

Mrs Furman was waiting at Los Angeles Airport this morning and we drove to Admiral and Mrs Reedy’s home in Santa Monica, where Mr Williams was also Waiting for his copy of “The Press ” “Just like the old days,”

said Admiral Reedy, as he) settled back to catch up with! the New Zealand scene. Then he dashed off to his work as a technological adviser in West Los Angeles, and Mr Williams headed for the air-

I line’s operation centre at the ; airport. i The photograph of the trio reading “The Press” this morning was transmitted back to Christchurch by Associated Press, but it took the long way round.

There is no direct photo link across the Pacific, and so I the picture went via New York, London, and Sydney.- ' completing the journey in I less than 10 minutes. The world is surely shrinkling. I