That other Christmas memory

Both of my friends have asked what my other Christmas memory that I never did write about was.  So I thought I would share it if my DSL will last long enough for me to get it typed.

I can't remember exactly what year it was but it was about maybe ten years ago or so.  Our youngest son Lee was living on his own and was experiencing some hard times financially.  It was Christmas time and he was planning to come home but he told us he was not happy about it all because he could not afford to buy gifts for anyone.  We assured him that no one would be offended and that he should know that everyone here would love him just the same. He did come but sort of looked as if he were depressed.  He talked very little even though that was not his usual nature.  Normally he was the life of the party.  He received several gifts and just held them without opening them.  Then, in the midst of everybody talking at once, he asked if all would give him a moment to say something.  We all stopped our present opening and talking and gave him our full attention.  He stood up and opened a large piece of paper and began to explain.  He told us that this was a time in his life when money was not a part of his life.  So as his gift to us all he had written a poem.  As he read the poem it became obvious that he had labored a long hard time to give us his best.  The poem was a cute goof that included each one of us here, as well as some who would be here later on.  We were all aware that the poem was not a trivial thing, but rather a true work of art.  When he finished reading there was not a dry eye among us.

Today there is never a Christmas time when I do not remember that day and it brings back a feeling for Lee that I really think everyone in our family also feels. We all knew and still know his true feelings for each of us.  As I think back I wonder if anyone who was there that day can remember any gift they received.  But I am ready to bet that all will remember that poem and the devotion Lee placed in it.  It was a precious gift to me and I am certain that it was for the others as well.

Love finds a way in many ways.  Some love finds a way into our hearts that stays there.

Thank you, Lee for that memory!   I truly love you!

New Picture

A short note:  Comcast will be here a week from tomorrow to finally release me from AT&T.  My DSL is working at the moment so I am trying to write this as fast as I can before it quits again.

I also am taking this opportunity to put my picture up so that you can have a good laugh.  So come back after next Thursday and we will have fun together.  In the meantime be good to somebody, preferably me.  I need you right now!

Hugs and kisses, depending on whether you are male or female.

Bill (or Willy)

My sorrow

Hi, anyone reading!  If you are here every once in a while then you may wonder why I have not written much in the last three weeks.  Well it is because I am still in a fight with AT&T.  I will be writing and all a sudden my DSL quits.  I then lose what I have been writing.  I call and call but nobody there seems to care.  I know what the problem is and they do, too, but it would cost them to put in a new line that works so they keep telling me it is fixed when it isn't.  So today, dear friends, I am calling Comcast .  I have already decided on the plan I want with them.  I have done my homework about the change.  So I will probably be off line for the next few days.  I hope to be back after that with a new smile on my face and a new attitude.  I plan to thank AT&T for all of their helpfulness and then wish them well.  I really think that they will be better off without me.  I have no regrets.  I have been patient with them for in fact many years.  And now I quit!

Please come back in a few days.  I have a lot of good memories to share with you.  Christmas was wonderful this year as always.  We were all together except for Lee who was with his wife's family as he should have been.  Together here we celebrated the birth of of Saviour and what a wonderful time it was.  So you see it is not all bad.  I even sincerely hope that the ones at AT&T had a fine Christmas as well. 

Love is a wonderful thing.  Share it with someone, won't you?

A Christmas Memory

Our 7:14 Group met last Thursday for our annual Christmas meeting. We met this time at Charley and Shirley's home and Charley cooked salmon and a turkey on his big green egg thingy.  Man was it good!  The rest of us brought good eats to supplement Charley's feast and fun was had by all.  After we ate we gathered in their living room around the piano and Shirley played Christmas carols while we sang.  Another blessing!  Then Shirley asked if anyone would share their favorite Christmas memory.  I had two but didn't want to take up other people's time so I only shared one.  It is my plan to share the second one with you here and now in the next paragraph or two.

It was the Christmas of 1946.  I was fourteen at the time.  It was my duty to keep the four fireplaces that heated our house going at all times, including some times that l had to rekindle in the middle of the night.  Believe it or not I loved that chore.  I sometimes would get the fires going and then sit in a rocking chair we had and dream in front of the fireplace in my room.  I learned to enjoy solitude at that early age.  And I thought that it could not get any better.

But it did!

You see that was the year that my first niece was born.  On that Christmas Eve Marjorie Jean Nelson came into my life.  Her dad was in the navy and could not be with us that time and her mother, my sister Bette, was living with us.  Her crib was in my room.  So when I would get up at night to tend to the fires I would then go to Marty's crib and check on her.  If she was fussy I would pick her up, change her diaper, wrap her in a warm blanket and sit with her in my lap as we both dreamed together.  She was (and still is) beautiful.  She would look up at me and smile.  I was certain that it was because she loved me. She would cuddle in my arms and sort of coo as she would fall back to sleep.  I would hold her until my arms could no longer take it and then gently lay her back in her crib.  I would wrap her in another blanket until I was sure she was warm enough, kiss her sweet cheek, and then hum an almost quiet song until her eyes were completely closed for the night.  She was my little girl and I loved her more than I can explain here.

So where is she now.  Well she grew up, married well to a very caring man and is now a great grandmother.  I am certain that everyone who knows her loves her but she is still my little girl.  

So there you have my memory.  Now each year on Christmas Eve I celebrate the birth of a baby that has meant much, much to me and then the next day I celebrate the birth of the Christ child, the most important baby ever to me.  I think that is why I love children so much today.  I am foolosh enough to think that they love me as well.  Isn't life a wonderful thing?

My Apology

If anyone has wondered why I have not written anything in a while it is because my DSL line suddenly quit.  I was in touch with four different tech support people and none seemed to be able to help.  They finally after four days agreed to send someone here to fix the problem.  He came and it worked for about an hour.  Now it goes off and on.  I am trying to complete this apology before it kicks off again.

I think I have figured it all out now.  My first call was answered by a man who said he was in Northern Indiana.  The second attempt was with a woman in the Philippines.  She said it was a dead modem and sent me a new one.  It didn't work.  The third was a young man in Alabama.  He talks just like I do.  He had about the same intellect, too.  He didn't have a clue as to what was the matter.  So he said that he would arrange for someone to come here and fix the whole problem.  He said that his engineer boss was going to call me within an hour and tell me when help would arrive.  After the second day had passed I decided that he wasn't going to call so I called again.  This time I got a woman in Louisiana.  She was about three watts.  She said that she could have someone here in about a week.  I threw a fit and told her that that was not O.K.  I asked to speak with her boss who actually came on the line.  She was about four watts.  I told her that I wanted someone here TODAY because I had waited long enough and if they were any kind of decent company they would take care of the situation NOW.  The guy showed up this afternoon, said he had it fixed, got into his truck and left.  It went out before he was out of sight.  Linda and I went to a show tonight and when we returned it was working.  So I have to be fast and get this done before it quits again.

Please be patient with me.  I don't get angry often.  I know they are all trying and times are hard right now.  So I forgive them one and all.  And I hope they don't get paid this month, the .........!

If it works tomorrow I will write something nice, so maybe we will all feel better.  I love you, whomever you are, and that includes the crazy people who work for AT&T.