Miss Ina Cuts To The Chase

Brenda Lee sings “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”. Period. End of story. That’s the long and short of it. Now, many other wonderful entertainers have recorded that song. As a matter of fact, it seems everybody and his brother has included it in a Christmas album over the years. That’s ok by me…..but, listen closely here, it ain’t Christmas until Brenda Lee sings it! It’s the same thing with Bing Crosby and “White Christmas” or Gene Autry and “Here Comes Santa Claus”.

Part of the goodness of the season is the tradition, the familiarity, the warmth, the memories and the good vibes certain songs, pictures, words, deeds or people evoke in our minds.

I don’t want to see a made for TV version of “Miracle on 34th Street”. I don’t want to see it in color. I want to see John Payne and Maureen O’Hara figure it out again. Edmund Gwenn WAS Kris Kringle! Everyone that came along later was just pretending. Can you imagine a Christmas without Jimmy Stewart keeping the Bailey Savings and Loan afloat in “It’s a Wonderful Life”? To this day if weird things happen to me, if it feels as if I’m in another place or time, I search my watch pocket for Zuzu’s petals.

I shave with a Gillete Fusion razor. I have tried Remington, Braun, Panasonic and once, in a moment of complete insanity, a straight razor. None of them ring up Christmas for me. We have reserved that space for the Norelco electric shaver. It doesn’t matter if the Norelco heads actually “float” over your beard like they did through the snow. It’s the little Santa riding on them that caught our attention…..and captured our imagination. Plus, they started airing those commercials during the second week of December. I figure no one out there is old enough to remember, but “once upon a time” that marked the beginning of the shopping season.

This was back in the days when you couldn’t buy a fake tree. You took an ax and headed for the woods. I’ve seen knock-down-drag-out fights break out over “the taller tree or the one with the thicker branches”. “Turn the bad side toward the wall” was the national cry! We spent hours stringing popcorn to decorate and help fill in the “weak” spots. Mom saved those thin, stringy silver icicles from year to year. It would take forever to get the lights untangled but it was worth it to see those bubbles rise up through each individual little tube. We always had an angel guarding the proceeding from high up top. I remember like yesterday how the fireplace seemed to roar extra special at Christmas. And I can still see plain as day the green and red wrapping paper covering the five gifts under that wonderful tree.

Buck or Case was the Christmas knives of choice. We had never heard of Rolex or Omega. But John Cameron Swayze looked us right in the eye and assured us those Timex watches were the best for Christmas because “they took a licking and kept on ticking”. Western Flyers were the fastest thing going. Hula hoops were near ’bout impossible to wrap. I never outgrew Lincoln Logs. We learned early that the biggest wrapped gift was not always the best….but it sure raised your expectation level! And you couldn’t count the hours we’d shake each package trying with all our might to guess the contents.  

Building a snowman was a Christmas essential even if we just got a “dust” of snow out at the end of Stonewall Street. There always seemed to be enough to chunk a rolled-up ball at your brother. And it didn’t take much snow to slide down that hill over on Forrest Avenue. We’d pull the sled back up to the top amid deep and intricate discussions on how could Santa possibly make it to every house in the entire world in one night. It was a hard concept to comprehend even at age seven. But we all believed back then…..and the knowing ones still believe today.

You knew Christmas was really getting close when Daddy took us riding to “look at the lights”. Or you peered through the fake snow painted on the front window at Cannon’s Rexall Drugs at the watches and rings. J. A. Abernathy’s hardware had Daisy air rifles, red hobby horses, Lionel Trains and Gilbert chemistry sets prominently displayed. The Ben Franklin Store front window held genuine Hopalong Cassidy gun and holster outfits, Tinker Toys, plastic army men and an assortment of games and candies. I left my nose print on every business window in town……

It wasn’t Christmas until: Uncle Hugh came in laughing. “Little Drummer Boy” drummed down on you from some place. You took at least one sip of eggnog. Mom read the second chapter of Luke. Someone heard a reindeer upon the roof top. You maneuvered Charlotte Melton under the mistletoe. Visions of sugar plums danced before your eyes.

I’m telling you, the anticipation of Christmas could take your breath away!

Miss Ina Odum, who has seen 97 Christmases come and go, reminded me just yesterday about Jesus and how He trumped all of the things we can say, think or buy concerning this very special time of the year. She doesn’t get side tracked by political correctness; she is not worried about offending some Buddhist, Muslim country or atheist naysayer. She understands the lowly stable, the swaddling clothes and the abiding shepherds. She grew up with the three kings from the Orient!

Miss Ina allows that Brenda Lee, gift giving, tree cutting, snowman building, window shopping and reindeer sightings are wonderful reminders of the season…...but it ain’t really Christmas until Jesus reigns in your heart.    

Now, that is worth celebrating!

Merry Christmas,

Kes and Miss Ina