20 December 2007

Merry Christmas

Some recollections of Christmas past:

One Christmas Eve, when I was very young, our family drove into town and purchased some Christmas ornaments at the Big Blue Store. Dad said we could also each pick out a toy. At our Big Blue, you had to walk past all brands of tires to get to the rest of the merchandise. To this day, the smell of new rubber tires takes me back to that night when I was about 5.

Speaking of tires-my parents rented out our old house trailer from which we moved. My dad would buy Christmas gifts for the families who lived there, but would leave them on their steps anonymously. One year he decided the family needed new tires for their car and left them sit outside. The fellow showed dad the generous gift someone had left-which he placed in the bathtub for safe keeping. I don't think dad was happy about that.

My cousins and I thought we would be clever and give Grandpa a scare one Christmas day. We took smoke bombs, placed them in the barn loft, lit them and allowed the smoke to billow out the hay loft door. We informed Grandpa the barn was on fire.

One year I remember going to my grandparents on Christmas Eve without a flake of snow on the ground. Santa showed up to pass out gifts, with little black tufts of hair showing beneath his cap. My uncle asked "Santa, on what did your sleigh ride if there is no snow?" It marked the end of my childhood.

My great aunt called one Christmas Eve day and said she would be unable to make it to our house that night because the county roads were drifted shut. My brother and I wanted to see just how bad it was so we set out in my car. We got stuck within 200 feet of her house and had to call my dad to help get us out. It was a very silent night indeed.

Realizing I must add proof to the belief in Santa for our children, I concocted a brilliant scheme on the way home from my wife's grandparents on Christmas Eve a few years back. Outside our bedroom window I created what appeared to be reindeer tracks in the snow on the porch roof and left melted tootsie rolls in a neat pile. I told the kids on Christmas morning if Rudolph ever left a mess like that again, Santa would not be welcome at our house anymore.

From our home to yours, Merry Christmas & make some memories.......I'll be back next week.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You have failed to mention that your brother was tortured in that incident by being made to dig the car out in the cold and snow while the driver (aka - you) stayed inside the car spinning the tires in the safety of your warm grand am...my fingers barely survived the incident.

What about the Christmas when grandpa wore that brazier?

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