[Vhfcn-l] Fwd: Grandma Christmas

[Ralph Stilwell]

Love it James!
Thank you!
Ralph

On Wed, Dec 22, 2021 at 8:36 PM James Evans via Vhfcn-l <
vhfcn-l at lists.vhfcn.org> wrote:

> >
> >>
> >> Too nice a story to not forward!  Wishing you blessed Christmas.
> >>
> >> Grandma Christmas
> >>
> >> I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma I was just a kid.
> I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big
> sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even
> dummies know that!" My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I
> fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew
> Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a
> whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns.
> I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.
> Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her
> everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus!" she snorted.
> "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years,
> and it makes me mad, plain mad.
> >>
> >> Now, put on your coat, and let's go." "Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked.
> I hadn't even finished my second world-famous, cinnamon bun.. "Where"
> turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a
> little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors,
> Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this
> money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait
> for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's. I was only
> eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I
> shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full
> of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments
> I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering
> what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.
> >>
> >> I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the
> kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about thought
> out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath
> and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs.Pollock's grade-two
> class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went
> out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling
> the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker
> didn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat. I fingered the ten-dollar
> bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on
> a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would
> like that. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the
> counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes," I replied
> shyly. "It's .... for Bobby."
> >>
> >> The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the
> coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas. That evening, Grandma helped
> me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons (a little tag fell out of
> the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) and wrote on the package, "To
> Bobby, From Santa Claus" -- Grandma said that Santa always insisted on
> secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we
> went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma
> parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly
> and hid in the bushes by his front walk
> >>
> >> Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered,
> "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the
> present down on his step, pounded his doorbell and flew back to the safety
> of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness
> for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby. Fifty
> years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my
> Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful
> rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous.
> Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have the Bible,
> with the tag tucked inside: $19.95.
> >>
> >> He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under
> >> a tree.
> >>
> >> Matthew 25:40. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I
> say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
> brethren, ye have done it unto me.
> >>
> >> Hope you enjoyed this little story !!
> >>
> >>  K
> >>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Vhfcn-l mailing list
> Vhfcn-l at lists.vhfcn.org
> This message was delivered to rpstilwell at gmail.com
> http://lists.vhfcn.org/mailman/listinfo/vhfcn-l
>