Well, now that we’ve made it through Christmas and …

Well, I guess we made it. We got through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. Now, we get ready for St. Valentines Day. And guess what; Lady M and I went into Morgan Hill’s great Target and there they were, St. Valentine’s Day candies, decorations and God knows what all. And it was New Year’s Eve!
We didn’t even get the credit card bills for the Christmas presents and we are being encouraged to start buying for the next holiday. To quote my favorite philosopher, Charlie Brown: “Good Grief!”
But this was a really nice Christmas. Many Morgan Hill homes were decorated beautifully; downtown looked terrific with the many store decorations and the twinkling lights along Monterey Road; lots of friends stopped by hoping for a nog – or maybe even a martini; some of our children joined us as did many of their children; and this year even our first great grandchild visited. What a treat.
I got to thinking about Christmas’s past and which one I remember most. Well, the one that will stay in my memory forever happened when I was in college. Each member of my fraternity – it was pretty much like the one chronicled in the film Animal House – adopted a child from a local orphanage for a day. We took our new friends on a shopping spree at Wanamaker’s – now maybe you have a clue as to where I went to college – then to lunch followed by a movie. It meant a great deal to our new buddies, but so very much more to each of us. Many tears were shed over a beer or two at Kelly’s Pub that evening after we returned our charges to their home.
That’s not to say that the many Christmases I have spent with Lady M and our eclectic crowd of children haven’t all been great, but that one stands out.
Then I wondered if there was anything I didn’t like about Christmas. Now, what is there not to like about Christmas? I’ll tell you what. I hate it when I see the word Xmas. The thought of replacing the name of the one whose birthday we are celebrating with an X just drives me nuts. Imagine what would happen if an X replaced Dr. King’s name on the day remembering him, or Mohammad’s or Buddha’s on their special days – I’m sure you get the idea. But that’s the only thing I really don’t like about Christmas.
Now, let me tell you about a couple of other Christmases I remember. When I was in high school, seems I was always stretched for cash, particularly this one Christmas what with a new girlfriend who had very expensive tastes and all.
Well, I had to get my sister something but I was cleaned out. Unfortunately (for her) she was always telling me how much she liked the hair stuff I used. If I remember correctly, it was called Vitalis. Well, I asked our mother if she had a perfume bottle that was empty, or nearly so. She had one and – you guessed it – I filled it with Vitalis, wrapped it in Christmas paper, a big bow and gave it to my sis. She loved it. Unfortunately, she will read this and know my dirty little secret. But, it was long enough ago that hopefully she will forgive. me.
Then there was the year my other sister insisted we get the largest Christmas tree we could carry on top of the family car. We did. And when we got home, it would have been perfect except we did not have a two story living room. Even if we had, it might have been a bit too tall. So, the surgery began. As the tree got shorter, some branches had to be removed. By the time we were finished, we had a tree that was shaped like an inverted, truncated cone, i.e. smaller at the bottom than at the top. That’s an image one could never forget.
One year, while visiting my parents who were getting along in years, Dad though it would be too much trouble to get a tree. But what is Christmas without a tree? On Christmas eve, I went out, found one tree lot still open and bought a tree for one dollar. There weren’t any ornaments at hand so it got decorated with popcorn strings, chains made with paper loops, and cardboard ornaments colored with crayons. I was probably the neatest Christmas tree I have ever seen. – not beautiful like the ones that Lady M creates each year, but neat just the same.
My very best to you and yours and a wish that 2013 brings you much ado about everything you hope for.
Henry “Hank” Miller is a retired rocket scientist, he has an interest in classic automobiles, good  conversation, martinis and community affairs. Reach him at

ha******@gm***.com











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