LEARNING AT THE POTTER'S WHEEL

Warning:
If you think that making fun of Santa and/or his reindeer isn’t in keeping with the holidays, you’ll not enjoy this post.

I have a friend that related this childhood memory to me:

Her dad managed to have LOTS of some-assembly-required gifts that needed his attention each Christmas Eve. In an effort to buy himself some more time to put the finishing touches on these items, he found a creative way to be sure that the kids got to bed early.

Long ago in rural America, electricity was rare. Airline travel was also rare. I can remember as a child running outside at the sound of an aircraft so that we could scan the sky for a rare glimpse of these machines. This meant that the skies and dirt roads in the country were VERY dark as there weren’t electric lights being beamed from the homes or planes.

This young father would arrange an early supper on Christmas Eve and invite the children to pile into the car to go and see decorations. (Believe it or not, riding around in the family car used to be considered entertainment) The days were short, so before long, it would begin to get quite dark. He timed his route so that they would pass by a local radio station tower when things were completely dark. This was in the days of AM only broadcasting. The towers were equipped with a red flashing light.

Imagine that you are a small child in the back seat of a family car on Christmas Eve. Everything is dark because Dad took a turn onto a country road and . . . THERE . . . You SEE it! ‘Did you see that?’ ‘What?’ ‘THAT!’ ‘What is it?’ her dad would say, sounding clueless. ‘That red, flashing light in the sky!’ The children would squeal from the back seat, ‘It’s SANTA! It’s Rudolph! LOOK!’

‘Oh no!’ the driver would exclaim in dismay, ‘If he sees you aren’t in bed, there won’t be any Christmas!’ At which point the frantic children would urge their daddy to drive home as fast as the car could go so that they could race to bed before Santa discovered they weren’t there already. As a bonus, none of the children dared to get out of bed for even a DRINK of water for fear they would be discovered.

*****

Then there’s the family that shared this story with Duke. They lived in the country when their daughter was small. Her little 3 year old mind took in all of the Christmas cartoons, and commercials that featured Santa and his reindeer. Shortly before Christmas, the family dog had been exploring in the woods near their home and brought home a treasure, as he always did. However, this treasure happened to be a discarded deer antler.

The family was outdoors, enjoying the weather and the 3 year old begins to sob uncontrollably. They could not console her enough to figure out what was wrong. They took her into the house, finally got her to stop crying and asked her what was the matter. She sadly informed them that she saw one of the reindeer’s antlers in the yard and that she thought they had an accident.

*****

The BEST story Duke heard though came from a man who is a grandfather himself.

The large extended family had gathered at the grandparents’ home in the country. There was snow and TWO Christmas trees had been decorated for the occasion. The house was large enough to hold all of the children and the swarm of grandchildren. It was a rare occasion for everyone to be in one place. Grandpa decided he would make it a memorable Christmas.

Everyone was milling around inside thinking about the food to come and the gifts, catching up on the news when

BOOM!! BOOM!!
There was an explosion in the yard!

All conversation stopped, and everyone swarmed outdoors.

There stood Grandpa. The shock from the percussion was still causing globs of snow to fall from the branches of a nearby tree. Scattered all over the yard were wrapped packages tossed askew. Grandpa was holding his double-barreled shotgun and a waft of smoke was coming out of the barrel. As wondering children took in the sight along with their puzzled parents, Grandpa opened the chamber and tossed the spent shells.

“I GOT HIM!” Grandpa said with a grin.

At first the children were excited that so many extra presents would be theirs.

Then, as they tore into the gifts, it occurred to them, “THIS might be my LAST Christmas!”

Try to sort out those emotions.

“That man has been dead for years,” said Duke’s friend, “But I’m STILL nervous about visiting that house!”