TIP #518 - CHRISTMAS MEMORIES - PART 1 During Christmas I take a break from the more serious things and post something of a lighter nature. The next two tips deal with Christmas memories of people on my other lists. Sad and funny, old and new; a chance for people to share back things from their past that was special at Christmas time. So, sit back and enjoy these memories. I have included only the first name of the submitters but I imagine you will find someone's story that you can relate to. I have had to abstract these so I can get them all in. A Soldier's Memory: "For most Americans, Vietnam was a pop-art oddity 12,000 miles away; for me, it was as real as the blood coursing through my veins and oozing onto the ground. A helter-skelter piece of a Chi-Com grenade had found its mark. As I lay there in pain, watching my life's blood steal away into the earth, the phrase "ashes to ashes and dust to dust" brought a whole new reality into perspective for this 19-year-old man-child. As I felt myself about to slip away into the black realm of unconsciousness, the thoughts and memories of home seemed to envelop my whole being, and I found peace and solidarity in remembrances of a simpler time. I devoured this sense of tranquility like a ravished scavenger. Then, in the distance, I heard a voice yell, "Medic," and next I felt a hand on my shoulder. In a voice that would calm an angry sea, he said, "You're going to be fine, son." At that instant, I released myself to drift into sweet, sweet sleep. When I awoke, I was back at base camp in a real bed, the likes of which I had not seen in six months. It actually had white sheets that smelled of Ivory Snow and were as soft as a mother's touch. I knew I was safe now. The metal that had invaded and ripped my body had been removed, and my limbs that had been scorched with fire were now wrapped so delicately and precisely with white gauze. The smell of iodine flowed over me, and it was as refreshing as the smell of newly mowed grass after a summer rain. The next voice I heard was that of a nurse. She spoke softly, and the sweet melody of her voice was a harmonic orchestration of every woman's voice I had ever heard. Her visits to change my dressings were more powerful than any narcotic. As soon as she would come into view, the pain would cease. In the cradle of her care, I healed - not just my wounds but the hatred for an enemy I did not know. Christmas Eve, I returned to my unit. The stench of burning excrement hung in the air as thick as molasses. Everywhere the business of war was being attended to - sandbags being filled, bunkers being dug, rifles being cleaned - plans for survival regulated everyone. I had always thought there was no recognizable smell for impending death, but this country reeked of it: It was everywhere, no one left unscathed, no one left untouched, no one emotionally unscarred. We all had seen death, and we all had helped him, and I had returned to help him more. I had reached my unit in time for mail call. I had not anticipated receiving any mail; I didn't write letters; what was there about war and death worth writing home about? I was stunned beyond belief when I heard my name called, but a quick punch from a buddy snatched me back to the present. I had received three huge packages from home. Each one filled with all the love and warmth a family could squeeze into a box. There was candy, cookies, canned fruit, pictures, newspapers and more, and, there was enough for everyone. Others brought out packages they had received and we all sat around devouring this slice of home. For that moment in time there was no war, no death, no dying, no pain. The feast of love our families had sent could not be rivaled in any banquet hall. We sang every Christmas song we knew, and, if we didn't know all the words, we improvised. Everyone had a story to tell about a special Christmas back home. We shared a camaraderie that crossed all racial and religious backgrounds. It was the only time in my life I've ever felt a mutual, unconditional love for man and mankind, and I know it was shared by all of us. Toward dusk we had just about succumbed to all the merriment when someone yelled, "Hey Jim, you forgot a package over here." As I weaved my way through everyone, I looked up and there in the doorway stood that wonderful angel of mercy who had helped heal my wounds. In her arms was a package that had been delivered to the hospital. We both tore into it as if it were a last-ditch effort to prolong this night of revelry. Surely the wonderment within this box would rekindle the joyous hours we had just spent together. As I lifted the lid, she let out a yell so loud that everyone stopped and all eyes focused on her and what she held in her hands. In that instant nostalgia had turned to joy as everyone caught a glimpse of flashing silver streamers. A roar went up as someone recognized, "It's a Christmas tree." Everyone moved feverishly to make a place to display this silver Christmas tree. Then someone began to sing "Silent Night," and soon everybody was singing from everywhere in the compound - from foxhole, from bunkers, from guard towers "Silent Night, Holy Night" resounded from the small country, in that small corner of the world, and I'm sure it was joined at some faraway rendezvous with millions of other voices singing "sleep in heavenly peace." Thirty-seven years later, my war is over; my personal battles have been won and now another generation of young soldiers prepare to endure a Christmas away from family and friends. My hope for them is that somehow they are able to believe in the Spirit of the season and "sleep in heavenly peace," among friend and foe. (Jim)" Santa, Send Dad Home: "When I was very young my Dad was in World War II . Back in those days, the radio was the best communication we had. Also, at Christmas time they would read children's letters to Santa on the radio. So, I ask Mom to write to Santa and ask him to" SEND MY DAD HOME FOR CHRISTMAS". It was Christmas Eve ,in the afternoon. Mom had just washed my hair and she was washing hers. When she heard me say" there's my DADDY". We lived about a quarter of a mile off the main road. No trees to block my view. I ran out the front door, no shoes and wet hair, also no coat. Down the road I ran to meet my Dad ,as he was getting out of a cab at the end of our road. Mom, ran after me , but couldn't catch me. It was my DAD . Santa had brought him home for Christmas . As he had told me when he read my letter on the radio. I listened to Santa and this is what he said," Little girl I will do my very best to bring your Daddy home for Christmas". That was one of my greatest memories of a Wonderful Christmas wish coming true, all because of Santa. My precious Dad passed away 19 Aug 2003. What fond memories flood my heart when I think of him. Merry Christmas to all!!!!! (Arvilla) I See Daddy: "Time doesn't mean much to a 3-4 year old but at that tender age, we lived in Lincoln IL; I knew nothing of WW II and what it meant to the parents or wives of their men being drafted. I didn't know what a draft was; only that my Mom was very, very sad and had been crying all day. I learned later that my precious Dad had been drafted and had to report for his physical that day. I think it was around Christmas time which I'd already learned was a wondrous time for a young girl although my parents, like many of that time, could barely afford fancy gifts for their children. For some reason, I sat glued most of the day in a chair where I could look out the front window; I was watching for my Daddy's car. I don't remember what kind of car it was in 1943-1944, but I remember my Daddy being happy about buying something for that car; something that must have been relatively new. They were called sealed-beam headlights and maybe they looked different from other car lights. The darkness came and I sat there; Mom was still sobbing as she started preparing supper. All of a sudden I saw a car coming and yelled out as loudly as I could "Mommy, Daddy's coming, I can see his sunbeam headlights!" In fact, it was my Dad and he came in sadly but with a smile on his face at the same time. He had been refused due to some back problem or something. Something was born in me right then which continues to this day; a fierce pride in the military. I know my Dad would have proudly served if he could have, and later I married a military man. Christmas? Well, that was a special year. Daddy was still there, there was a little tree in the living room and a teddy bear hiding in the only place I hadn't thought of looking; a teddy bear who celebrates his 61st or 62nd birthday with me and who is still cherished as "Paddy O'Cinnamon", the bear who became mine on the year that we all celebrated Christmas together. (Sandi) First Christmas Remembered. "I must have been five years old, in those times. I remember no special days, no birthdays, anniversary or holidays. But this year we were going to have my first Christmas remembered. We lived in a four-room house by the side of a dirt road about a half-mile off the highway, in Adair County Kentucky. Life was pretty simple back then. I remember no Christmas decorations, just a strings of beads made from popcorn on a small Christmas tree, cut from a field, where Red Cedar wood grew in abundance. Finely Christmas day came and I was up early to see just what Old Santa had brought me. There is was, under that small tree, an apple, orange and a small bag of loose candy, but the biggest and best gift I ever received was a small shinny "Cap Pistol" and one roll of caps. This small cap pistol had a place for one cap, which was place in the chamber, before pulling the trigger for a BANG! There must have been about fifty caps on that roll. I don't remember if I ever got another roll of caps for that gun. However I do remember that first Christmas in the year of 1939." (Carlis) A Note To The Elves: "My brother and sister and I spent our youth in Frostproof and Lakeland, Fla. in the 40s and early 50s. Believe it or not we had fireplaces back then and we used them. Every Christmas our father would have us write a note to the elves listing what we wanted from Santa. He would have a huge fire going in the fireplace and he would put those notes up the chimney and they would disappear. We were totally enchanted with the thought that the elves were on the rooftop catching our notes and we just knew Santa would bring us the things we wanted. It always seemed such a mystery and a wonder to me that Daddy was able to make Christmas so enchanting for us. To this day I have no idea how he managed this delightful surprise. I never think of Christmas without reliving that lovely memory." (Abigail) Popcorn and Garland: "My best Christmas memory is similar to everyone's.. Popcorn and cranberry garland, Silver stars around the large Christmas tree lights include the "BIG" one on top... "fresh smell of the tree", Going to the Christmas Eve church service and getting a Christmas bag of fruit, nuts and candy...Waking up to hearing the Christmas carols on the radio and finding the Lincoln Log set and a 3 foot high baby doll left by Santa... PS Dad and I spent hours building houses and forts with that set.. (The tomboy in me is shining through!!) Happy Holidays to everyone.." (Kat) A Kentucky Cedar Tree: "I never heard of BUYING a Christmas tree, or never knew there was any KIND of Christmas tree except a CEDAR, until I left Monroe County KY! Cedar trees grew in abundance at my grandparents' farm, so my mother, my sister and I would bundle up and drive out there and we sometimes searched a long time before Mama decided on the perfect tree to hack down. Daddy, who hated cold and snowy weather, would not go with us, but he could nail together a wooden platform to nail to the tree! And, he was good at untangling Christmas lights, and hanging them on the tree. Another early memory was Christmas at my grandparents house. She had tiny REAL candles on her tree! It's a wonder the house didn't burn down. At the Christmas table, men ate first, then the children, and lastly, the women. I'm glad my mother changed that custom! (Pansy) Christmas in Ohio Co KY: "I grew up in the 40's and 50's in a small town in Ohio County Kentucky and my fondest memories were of us three kids going with daddy to get our cedar Christmas tree which always looked much smaller in the field. Daddy would have to saw a couple of feet off the bottom after he drug it home and then he made a wooden stand for it. But the most memorable thing was hanging our stockings on Christmas Eve, they were long thick tan cotton stocking that the women wore in the winter. Christmas morning they were filled. The foot was full of mixed nuts, next a sack of all kinds of candy, then oranges, apples, bananas and grapes. I hung my stocking until I married in 1953. Oh, how we looked forward to that stocking. What I would give to just have one more Christmas morning with mother and daddy. If your parents are still with you give them a hug from me. Greetings to all." (Dora) My First Christmas Card: " When I receive my FIRST Christmas card I Keep the envelope, put the date on the outside "Incoming 04" Then as the cards come in I cut off each return address and put it in that first envelope. Save the envelope for next year. I have a good file for recent addresses. As I write my cards I make a mark on each return address to note that I sent the card for the next year. Sure makes addressing cards easier. Especially if you have friends who move often. Happy New Year." (Helen) The Gift: "This weekend I made some cookies, bought a miniature Xmas tree and decorated it and took it over to a senior citizen that lives alone and if you could have seen the joy those two little things gave her you would want to reach out and give her a big hug. Although it gave her great joy, the joy my husband and I got will always be with us. Today we went and bought more trees and makings for cookies and have called the local nursing homes looking for just the right seniors to take them too. There are many seniors that are alone with no living family members and the holidays are a really tough time for them. We always remember the children at Xmas but forget about the seniors. This is going to be probably my best Xmas yet." (Linda) Kentucky Molasses Candy: "My Texas Christmas memories are happy ones. However, my dad and his ancestors were from KY and two of our Christmas traditions including his making molasses candy in the skillet and having my mother make a Jam Cake along with Fruit Cakes." (Anne) Black Walnut Tree: "We lived on a farm that had a large black walnut tree in the yard. After school my brother and I would gather all the walnuts that fell that day and place them in the driveway so my father would run over them when he came home from work. After they dried in the sun the next day we would pick them up and break off the hull and put them in bushel baskets to dry out. Come the Christmas season my father would crack them on a flat iron and we would all pick them out in the evenings and put them in Mason jars. My mother used them in divinity candy, fudge and cakes during the holidays. Black walnuts and hickory nuts were what we could afford -- free! My greatest Christmas as an adult was the year we received our son. We had waited on adoption lists for over 5 years and had never told anyone of our problems or planned adoption. So, when we learned a little boy would be ours we took pictures and shared them with each of our families on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Many surprises and tears of joy were shared and that little boy came to our home on Dec. 26th. No gift will ever surpass that. He is now grown and the joy he has brought our lives is immeasurable. (Elaine) Another Kentucky Cedar Tree: "Living in comfort in suburban Atlanta, my favorite Kentucky Christmas memory is decorating one of those ubiquitous Kentucky cedar trees instead of a Frazier or Douglas or White Pine. My Dad later always used an artificial tree. Living in Atlanta we always seem to end up with a school or team fund raising fir tree....but how I miss the simple Kentucky cedar tree for Christmas." (David) "I had many memories as a child. But tonight I got the greatest gift. I was asked to baby sit my Great niece and nephew. As I was sitting in my sister living room the front door opened and then a guy said Merry Christmas. I looked and then screamed. Here was my son and his wife who is in the Air Force came home for Christmas and surprised me. He told me a month ago that the Air Force cancelled all leaves that with everything going on. (Jerri) "I have a lot of memories of Christmases when I was a child of getting nothing for Christmas. Money was hard to come by and, of course, Santa obviously did not know we were there. It is hard for a small child to hear what other children got for Christmas and answer the question, "what did you get?". The strange thing is that today, as in years past, I bought bags and bags of toys and delivered them to Toys for Tots to be given to children who would not otherwise have toys. I had black dolls and white dolls and trucks and all sorts of things. Go figure! (Alene) To be continued next week. (c) Copyright 16 Dec 2004