The Ghost of Christmas Past

Two months have gone by since my last post. Not too bad considering how long I have waited in the past. I have decided that I don't post each day or even weekly because I can never remember how to log on to this thing so I just don't. It is the season of good cheer and nostalgia and giving. I always get mushy around Christmastime. I remember my very young years while living with my grandparents. I was the first granddaughter so I was pretty much bombarded with all kinds of gifts. Then they were all placed around the scrawny tree with me in the middle of them and the photo was taken. This was back in the day when you got a Christmas stocking that would look like onions should come in it today. Regardless, it was great; nuts, apple, orange and maybe a piece of hard ribbon candy or two. It was always the first thing I wanted to look through. When I was about 4 or 5 I got a real stocking. It is long gone now but I remember it. A lightweight knit of red and green with a Christmas picture of some kind on it. All I knew was Santa could get a lot more stuff in that one than the onion bag ones. Later on when my mom got re married there were little ones to coo over at Christmas. I was still young enough to want stuff from Santa but I was pushing it. The one year I got a Cinderella watch. That was quite telling. I loved it and still have it. A few years later about 1961 I got a pale turquoise transistor radio. It was no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. I thought I was the coolest kid in 5th. grade. I was listening to that same radio in the girls bathroom during recess when I heard that President Kennedy had been shot. I ran and told the teacher and he did not believe me right off. To this day I hear from old classmates that say, I remember you telling everyone that President Kennedy had been shot. Not something I care to be remembered by. I was very good at figuring out what was in my packages. No I never opened them. I knew if my mom ever caught me opening or peeking at a present that would be it. She would put my eye out. No, really. But there was this one year that under the tree was a package about 24 inches long and shaped like a wedge of cheese. It was killing me trying to figure out what that was. It did not match anything I had ask for. So Christmas morning I tore straight to that package and ripped it open. It was an intercom set. I couldn't believe my eyes. A way to spy on my parents, and I did. One was in the kitchen and the other one next to my bed. Friday night came along and Roy and Carrol were having friends over to play cards, drink beer and smoke. It was the 60's. This activity was done in the kitchen. That evening I went into the kitchen where the card playing and debauchery was to take place and taped down the button on the intercom so I could listen when I went to bed that night. My efforts were for naught. Nothing juicy was said or done all night. What a waste of good tape. I played with that thing for years, then the younger kids took over. Those are good memories. My hubby tells a story about getting his first BB gun. How on Christmas day he took it out back to shoot it at a target. His dad said how good a shot he was. At that point his younger brother chimed in with; he should be he's been practicing for two weeks. He had found it under a board in his mom and dad's bedroom. Would unwrap it while they were gone, take it out and practice with it and then put it back. There were four boys in that family. I don't know how my mother in law did it. I sent off two Christmas presents today. The teacher that I referred to above has remained a lifelong presence in my life. He is a Navy veteran and I send him a card every year on Veterans Day. I know it means a lot to him. I crocheted a flag pillow cover for him and sent it to him for Christmas. My nieces will be going to their grandparents for Christmas this year so I sent their present too. One was going 20 miles away and the other to the NW side of Chicago, about 50 miles away. Both weighed the same. I wanted to make sure the girls got theirs quickly so I sent it UPS for a sum of $13.00 plus some change and a $5.00 off coupon. Yep it was gonna cost $18.00 to send a 2 lb. package 50 miles without my coupon. I took the other package with the pillow to the post office. $5.00 sent it on it's way. I was dumbfounded. When at the UPS store and the lady said $18.00 I know my thought bubble popped up with WTF in neon in it. Oh well, Merry Christmas Everyone.