Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Christmas Past

This time of year always brings forth remembrances of childhood and teenage Christmases for me.

The past meets me and I am drawn backwards, like a dream heavy time machine.

The smell of pine and the crisp air are a heady perfume.

Candles and lights warm and illuminate the path. pleasantly luring us to a place never forgotten.

There is a pastiche of images tumbling around and out right now.

The trees decorated with old and new ornaments, as each year we would add something meaningful to the family. Cherished artwork from us three kids adorned those huge pines.

The smell of pine mixed with Mom's cooking and interestingly, Dad's cigars, like a familial incense.

Presents, eating and playing in the snow replete with snow forts and not just snowball fights, but 'snow wars', with my brother's and my stockpiled 'armament'.

Warming up with cocoa and lots of whipped cream. Lots, -s-. Together with cookies and pies, we were fortified for another round.

Oranges, so sweet and juicy, started the day off and that smell stayed and added to the magic.

As we got older and we moved, the celebration included, for me, time spent with one of my best friends from high school.

This was a godsend, for it gave me some respite from taking care of my Dad, who had gotten ill. Time away with friends, so that I might be stronger.

Somewhere, there are home movies my friend's Mom took of us guys, his cousin and a mutual friend along with my friend's sister mugging for the camera.

The fun we had! Goofing and laughing! Christmas break! No schoolwork! And the 23rd was my friends birthday.

He managed to get presents for both holidays. The boy never suffered lol.

They had a present wrapping assembly line in the basement. It was a wonder of family technology. We each shared the work and were rewarded with a Christmas drink after our labors.

I don't like to live in the past. Memories, however, are precious treasure. They are the basis for heritage and history.

In spite of the sadness of my Dad's illness and deterioration, my family and my friend's family had a great deal of good times. Shared grief gave way to celebration.

One of my Dad's last Christmases, we got a bottle of Dom Perignon. This was spurred by me, the consummate James Bond fan -s-.

The task of popping the cork was given to me.

Everyone sat in the living room, witnessing the ceremony.

Not having had a great deal of experience, I struggled with said cork.

As I moved around, I managed to position the bottle pointed in Dad's direction on the couch.

He was wearing a red stocking cap, as the illness made him chill.

As I popped the cork, it shot toward him, making a beeline for that cap.

I never saw Dad move, sick or well, so fast lol. And he never lost the cap!

My Great Grandma, Rose Belle, came over that year.

She had a glass of bubbly and smoked a few cigarettes, at the age of 93 (She lived to be almost 103).

I had gone to my room in the afternoon to lift weights (A habit I retain).

She asked where I had gone and Mom told her I was exercising.

She then said, 'I can exercise still', and touched her toes a few times! THAT I wish I'd gotten on film lol.

I will never forget it.

I will remember it all and have regaled the kids with many a tale, as I hope they will do for their own someday. For that matter, I hope I can tell tales to my future grandkids myself, if given the time.

These thoughts carry me through this cold wet season.

And this simple humanity is a very profound reason why I am committed to Freedom.

How can we have a Republic without our humanity?

7 comments:

teacher said...

We are the sum of our days.

henry said...

I wager you have become better skilled with the cork!

Mike H said...

Measurably -s-.

Samus said...

We have humanity. The state does not. That cold machine that grinds us down and seeks to make collectivism our very life.

It's death.

teacher said...

We call upon our humanity. Our enemies cannot because they have none and oddly (to us), they use emotion to substitute for heart.

We use logic tempered with emotion to win the day.

We fight to retain humanity.

They fight to destroy it.

It's always been bloody and will be again.

Mike H said...

David Codrea at War on Guns was kind enough to publish this entry.

Sean has a very good reply from there:

Sean said...
'I agree with Mike. In the struggle to remain/return to/become/ free, it will fall upon each individual to retain their humanity. Unfortunately, during the struggle, it will become neccessary to be inhuman, to win. Once that is past, we go back to being civilized. It is a specific oxymoron that in order for humans to remain complete humans,ie: totally free, they must at times resort to being savages, because there are savages among us that will not cease to enslave us until they are all dead. A contradiction, to be sure, but it has always been so. There will be no freedom, without blood.'

Mike H sez:
This is historic. Our ancestors had to fight and shed both their blood and the enemies' to end the War for Independence.

So it was then and so it is now.

Bridgit said...

It's BECAUSE we care that we fight.

Like a mother protecting her cub, I'll fight for our Freedom.