Christmastown USA

One of the small towns that is located near my home is nicknamed 'Christmastown USA'.  In 1956, a group of men started a tradition at Christmas of hanging color lights on a few trees downtown. Afterwards a local businessman and his wife decided to have all of the trees covered with lights for the first part of Dec.  Each of the residents is responsible for their own house and yard.  Some people hang a wreath on the door, while others have candles in every window and lights on every tree in their yard.  The pond in the center of town has a fountain with different color lights and all of the trees around the pond are lighted also.  A new feature is Old Man Winter blowing the chilly air.  One of the churches on Main St. always has a nativity with a star attached high above on a pole.  Beautiful music plays over a loudspeaker and it is a very moving scene.

When the tradition first started, only red, green and white lights were used.  After 9-11, a single tree in town was covered with red, white and blue lights in honor of our military. 

The town lights are on each night until just after Christmas.  People come from everywhere to see the lights.  Churches have hayrides, people rent limos and some people just park and walk through the streets.  It is a very beautiful place and there is no charge for admission. You just need a little patience and a willingness to slow down and enjoy the magic and spirit of this time of year. 

The Christmas Catalog

When I was a little girl, one of the most exciting times of the year was right after Halloween when we received our Christmas catalog.  Glossy, color pictures of everything from clothes to toys to outdoor decorations were in this book.  When it would arrive in the mail, I would always turn to the pages of toys and start thinking about what I would write on my list to Santa.  Bikes, games, dolls, train sets, anything that you could possibly want was in this book.  I sometimes wonder if I ever earmarked the top of the pages that had my 'wants' or if I took a big marker and drew a circle around the picture of the item.  I am sure that I had been talking about what I wanted and 'Santa' already knew, without us even getting the catalog. 

When our sons were growing up, we encouraged them to write a letter to Santa.  Most of the time, they inquired about Mrs. Claus and Rudolph.  And they usually said that they had been good all year.  We had Christmas catalogs at our home and one year, they skipped the letters and just cut out pictures of what they wanted.  I don't recall if they got what they wanted that year but they were happy when they came downstairs and saw everything laid out. 

I wonder if kids now just go to the website of their preferred gift, print out the page and leave it laying around for 'Santa'.  How sad that they can't sit on the couch and flip through a book with their brother or sister and excitedly say 'Wow, I want one of those for Christmas' or 'I'm asking Santa for one of those'.

And I wonder if Santa has to go to 'Google' to find out exactly what it is that a child asks for.  If they had a Christmas catalog, it would be so much simpler. 

 

I Love A Parade

I still live in the same town that I grew up in.  It was anchored by textile mills for many years.  When the mills started closing, the town began to take on a new personality.  There were many changes taking place, in the neighborhoods and businesses.  One thing that has never changed is our Christmas parade.  I can remember being a little girl and looking forward to the Tuesday that we would line the streets, waiting for the police cars to slowly make their way down, sirens blaring loud.  My mother worked at one of the mills along the parade route so we would park in their parking lot.  Her shift ended at 3:00, she would come home and pick me up and we would head back downtown.  She would always buy me a special treat of little doughnuts from the mill store (which was called something else, but that is a story for another day) and we would walk to the spot where we stood every year.  For several years after my mom retired and the mill had shut down, we still stood in the same location as we previously had. 

We would laugh at the clowns and were amazed at the baton twirlers.  We thought the metallic streamers on the floats were so shiny and we watched the dance classes as they moved and clapped along with the music.  We watched as the church vans pulled their floats with the live nativity scenes and a baby doll laying in the hay in the manger.

The parade is still on Tuesday and is started by the local police, their sirens blaring loud.  The high school bands still play Christmas carols and the homecoming queens still wave from the convertible cars. The Boy Scouts still march and Santa is at the end, wishing everyone a 'Merry Christmas'.

 

And I still think about the little coconut donuts that my mom bought for me and the excitement I felt on the Tuesday that the parade was held.

 

 

If We All Had Homes Like This

The new book that I am reading is titled They Pulled Together and Won.  It is about WWII and everything that our country did during the war.  The chapters vary from 'Women at Home' which tells about women who went to work in the factories to 'How We Had Fun' about the dances and celebrity bands who traveled to play for the troops.

One chapter is 'Mail Call'.  Several stories told how long it took mail from the US to get overseas.  The men learned how to write letters on a piece of paper, then fold it to make its own envelope.  All mail from soldiers were mailed free, no stamp needed.  Packages sent to soldiers with gifts and food were much appreciated and were shared with each other.  No matter how mundane the news was from home, the men were excited to hear their name called at MAIL CALL.

As I read each of these stories, I was reminded of a song that was on one of my dad's records.  The name of the song was 'Message from Home' which tells of a cowboy out on a range, getting a letter from home.  The other 'tough' cowboys laugh at him, asking if it is a letter from his sweetheart.  As he reads the letter, he tells them 'no, just a letter from home sweet home.'  As you listen to the song, you can just picture the group sitting there, wishing they had gotten letters from their families.

I hope as the Christmas season approaches, each member of our military gets a letter or package from home sweet home and that they know that we are all praying to guard them from harm.

A MESSAGE FROM HOME SWEET HOME

Out on a western range one night I met a reckless crew

One cowboy said to another, 'Jack, there's a letter here for you'

'I suppose it's from a sweetheart, boys,' came a rough voice from out in the crowd

With a laugh and a jeer they gathered round while Jack replied aloud.

'It's only a message from home sweet home, from loved ones down on the farm

'From wife, from mother, from sister and brother, praying to guard you from harm

'The baby is lisping a prayer tonight to bless you wherever you roam

'We'll welcome you, Jack, if you'll only come back, 'tis a message from home, sweet home'

'Then fare ye well, my boys', said he, 'I'm going to that land

Then one by one each cowboy came and took him by the hand

One said, 'If we had homes like you, we'd all be better men

'Oh Jack, before you go, old pal, just read that letter again'.

'It's only a message from home sweet home, from loved ones down on the farm

'From wife, from mother, from sister and brother, praying to guard you from harm

'The baby is lisping a prayer tonight to bless you wherever you roam

'We'll welcome you, Jack, if you'll only come back, 'tis a message from home, sweet home'.

A Little Perspective

When I was a little girl, we had an amusement park in my town.  I don't remember a lot since it closed when I was very young, but I do remember watching movies and being on some of the rides. There was also a playground that had a sliding board that was really tall.  I always thought that the steps of the sliding board were endless, that it took so long to get to the top.  Now that I see pictures of the slide, it doesn't look that big.

We went to a public swimming pool in the next town that had a 9 foot section.  There was a diving board and also a high dive in the roped off area.  Most of the people who went off the high dive just jumped straight into the water.  I can remember climbing up, my heart pounding loudly with each step.  And then hesitating for only a second because I knew if I stood there any longer, I would lose my nerve and climb back down. 

When I took my 2 sons to the same pool years later, I again climbed to the top of the high dive.  My heart no longer seemed to beat against my chest, I no longer thought of climbing back down.  I jumped straight in, went to the bottom of the pool and pushed off to come back to the surface of the water.  Then I would swim to the side to watch my sons jump in. 

What seemed impossible at times, now was within reach.  What I thought I could never do, suddenly I was doing, over and over.

What changed?  My age, my size, my bravery?  My perspective. 

Do you need a little perspective in your life?

The American Flag

We have tried to have an American flag hanging on our porch since 9-11.  If it was torn or faded, we took it down until it could be replaced.  We respected the flag and participated in flag burning ceremonies when our sons were in Scouts and were taught the proper way to dispose of a flag.  

Our granddaughter was at our house a few weeks ago and saw the flag hanging from a porch column.  She was so excited and said "You have a pledge of allegiance flag!"  She is learning at a young age what the American flag stands for.  When I was in school, we always stood in the mornings, placed our hand over our heart and said the pledge.

I remember when Red Skelton had a TV show.  One week, he broke up the Pledge of Allegiance and recited it word for word and line for line.  Each time, he would stop and explain what the word or line meant. 

I wish each student in school had to write an essay on what the America flag means to them.  I don't know if me getting older, hearing details about the wars we are in, attending Veterans' Day/Memorial Day ceremonies, etc....  are what is making me feel this way.    But I hope each person reading this, will understand what the flag stands for and stops for a few seconds to lift it off the ground, unwrap it from the pole or straighten it and be thankful that it is a flag for the 'United States of America'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMR6d_9GsCQ

As a Parent ........

One of my favorite shows is Andy Griffith.  Last night the episode was 'Opie the Birdman'.  Opie had accidently killed a mother bird with his slingshot.  Andy told him that he would have to be a substitute mother for the baby birds.  Opie took care of them; putting them in a cage, giving them worms, making sure they had everything they needed.  When they had grown and were big enough to leave their nest,  Andy told Opie that he would have to let them go, just like their mother would have done if she had still been alive.  Opie didn't want to turn them loose and told Andy he couldn't let them go.  He questioned if he had done the right things, what if he hadn't taken care of them like their mother would have.  Andy assured him that he did the right things.  Opie then opens the cage and says to the first bird, "I hope I did all the right things."  He releases the birds and they are able to fly into the trees. He turns to his dad and says "He made it!  He is O.K.!"  As he looks at the cage, he says, "the cage sure looks awful empty".  And Andy tells him that the cage looks empty but don't the trees look nice and full.

As a parent, I often wondered if I was doing the right thing.  Eric and I said that we only got 1 chance at raising our sons and if we messed up, we didn't get to do it over.  As they grew, we would second guess ourselves and pray that we had made the right choices. 

Our 2 sons are grown now with families of their own.  I am sure that they sometimes question their decisions.  I can only hope that their children will turn out as great as they did.