Back about 1975,
Christmas at our house looked like this:
A $5 permit in
hand, we trudge through the snow in the mountains picking out the perfect tree
to cut down. We never wanted to cut off more than we had to, so sometimes
the tree had to duck the ceiling a little. Not many decorations, but we
would buy one new box of Christmas ornaments every year knowing that eventually
we could absolutely overload a tree.
A legacy from my
childhood, there was the American Flyer train layout, different every year,
with the Lionel transformer so the locomotives would have plenty of
power. Lots of practice putting train car wheels back on the
tracks. Drops down the smokestack of one of the engines would provide
chuffing smoke (and a special aroma). As presents started to accumulate
they could be arranged as backstops and tunnels. Running the trains was
good for a week or two, until the tracks were overwhelmed by presents, even if
we had to take the pack of a dozen Hot Wheels cars apart and wrap them all
individually to accomplish our goal.
Reflections of my
own overwhelming Christmases with presents piled high. Later in life Mom
told stories of Dad telling her that Christmas needed to be different this
year. We were just going to buy a few presents, then looking at the tree
right before Christmas and declaring that this just won’t do, and going out
shopping for a giant bag of toys because Christmas morning just has to “look
right”. So, Dad’s legacy to our legacy, Christmas just has to “look
right.
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