A Rum Pa Pum Pum

The Old Man is sort of a sap about Christmas. I've always been a mix of Currier, Ives, Kodak, and little Ralphie of "shoot your eye out" fame. Pull off the lid and look in my pot and you'll find the ubiquitous Christmas stew. As you may have noted, I recently found a treasure trove of pictures from my childhood. They were in an unexamined box of my mother's "stuff" relegated to a seldom used closet after we cleaned out her room. Many of them dealt with Christmas and in so doing, opened the vault door to my memory banks.

Each generation makes an honest and worthwhile effort to create a more elaborate and richer world for its children. We want to give them more than we had, and we had more than our parents. I'll not debate the wisdom of this progression because opinions are varied and many, all with merit. What I will do, is give you a glance at Christmas Past.

My mother's generation grew up in a time when things were scarce and dear. She told me many times of how they would be awakened on Christmas morning by her father stepping out the back door and letting loose with both barrels of his shotgun into the air. Imagine that happening where you live now. The SWAT team, snipers, the Action News Team, helicopters, and Geraldo would pounce within minutes. After awakening, Mom and her siblings, all 6 of them, would dash to the fireplace where literal stockings were hung. In them would be a few nuts, an orange, and some things called "sugar plums" (dried grapes much like a raisin). Sometimes there might be a small doll or other toy. Not quite Nintendo, but just as well loved. It's my belief that they were in love with the concept of Santa Claus, more than with what he might have brought them.

Time-travel a bit. The Old Man has made the scene and Christmas has come to Bedford.
Things got started about 3 weeks before Christmas. Town decorations consisted of colored lights running across the two main streets at each light pole. At the crossroads of these two streets there was a big display over the traffic light. It consisted of three red bells that blinked in sequence to simulate ringing. Next came the big event....the Christmas Parade.

All of the town merchants would cover their windows with paper about one week before the parade. Tension built and great speculation was afoot about what the window decorations would look like when the unveiling occurred. The parade would step off with the Bedford Firemen's Band leading the way, followed by several convertibles and a few open wagons pulled by tractors. Town dignitaries would be riding and waving. Sometimes they would throw candy. The high school cheerleaders were always there. It must have been tough to high kick while lurching along on a flat bed pulled by a Massey-Ferguson. Santa himself brought up the rear, riding high on the town fire engine. It's probably a safe bet that no one from Macy's Dept. Store ever scouted the Bedford parade for hidden talent.
During the parade, magic had happened. The windows had been unveiled! Just about the whole town made its way around ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the creative efforts. The Park Street Battalion pressed our snotty noses against the glass of the stores that sold toys. Wonder of wonders......bikes, Lionel trains, and Slinkeys beckoned and called.

I must have seen "The Christmas Story" a hundred times. My whole family can pretty much recite the dialog. I think the bond I feel with that movie speaks directly to an inner part of me. Ralphie and his quest for the Red Ryder Daisy Air Rifle more accurately reflects the culture of my childhood than I could ever relate here. The clothing, attitudes, reactions, and all the surrounding events are as close to time-travel as it is possible to experience.

During the season, I will describe more of the "way it was", and I trust you will find value there. The Old Man still plays with trains, has a Red Ryder, and finally, last year, found "sugar plums". And it is good.