"Can I get some photo Exposure over here? " as said by brother Daniel..
What was your most memorable Christmas(es)as a kid?
Mine was when the Cooker came home from the hospital after being in for a month. I was soooo scared that he was gonna die. First young person I ever knew who went into the hospital for that long. He was really sick and his joints were swollen and Mother and Dad were afraid too. I remember promising God that if he came home I'd never fight with him again. I actually stuck to it for a few days after he got home.
The secondary memory from that Christmas was when I broke the neck right off his guitar Santa brought him. Note to self; you can't walk through a doorway while playing your big brother's guitar.
Glad you made it. There would've been a helluva lot less laughter in my world if you hadn't. Merry 46th(?) or 61 Christmases later Cooker. TJ
24 comments:
My most memorable Christmas was the year Michael Patrick was born. His early arrival caused John, Gerry & me to be "farmed out" to the Cartwrights (Gerry & me) & Gladues ("Lucky" John), while Mother was in the hospital--back in the day when mothers were kept in bed/hospital for 7-10 days after delivery! The whole family was scattered, but good, old Santa knew where exactly where we were & he made sure we had our gifts on Christmas morning!!!
Michael DOES like to call attention to himself around Christmas time, doesn't he???
sis
My most memorable Christmas was the year I asked for a Black Zebra jacket! It was a curdoroy, short waist jacket with Zebra stripes on the left and right, where you would put Lapel Pins. My older brother got a Red One...I got a Flannel shirt! (still have it, too!) Christmas to me has always been about, What am I Getting!?!
I did not know about the time I spent w/Sis on the Cartwright Ponderosa...no wonder I enjoy Farming so much! It was Michael's Fault!
But my best Christmas memory was in Saigon, 1968, I was an E-5, 22, with cash in my pocket and...er, uhm, nevermind...
First of all..thanks for the great memory of my brief stay in Doctors Hospital...(so old they tore it down)..I too was scared, the whole time...used to lie in bed with ;my football letter on my hospital gown and think..."was it worth it?"..NO! anyway...funny how things go.. got my draft notice at 18 yrs.old, flunked the physical, of course...4F ..came home, Gerry went to to war...and who knows, maybe we would have both been touring
"Saigon, w/ cash in our pockets" ..funny life isn't it...Merry Christmas everyone...Love, Cooker
I have to jump in here and say that I have been vindicated...finally. Reading Slim's post, it was he all the time who walked thru the door with Cooker's guitar. For years Michael has been telling me it was I. Am I now free of that burden? Thank you Slim.
There was the time that dropped his D-28 Martin on the cellar floor and cracked it - just a little. Sorry 'bout that, Cooker.
Now, a Christmas memory. It was Christmas eve and I was nestled in the bottom bunk in the front room. When I heard such a clatter, I thought what's the matter but dared not look too soon. For it could be St. Nick making his way with my gifts. As I lay with the pillow up over my head I realized I better move soon or I'd suffocate and be dead. The 'clattering' went on, with some groans and a burp. It sounded like St. Nick was dizzy or hurt. When finally I could hold my breath no more, I stole a peek thinking St. Nick had gone out the door. When to my young eyes I saw just what had gone on. It was my brother stumbling into bed, my drunk brother John!
Does anyone have a picture of our Christmas "fireplace"?
THAT CARDBOARD FIREPLACE!!! Priceless. I loved that thing. Once it was up you just KNEW Santa would come down that non-existent chimney.
Remember Aunt Kate's portrait of the cross eyed Santa?
Who has the "D" St. tradition of running out last minute Christmas Eve to get a tree? Ha!
Then there was the year Gerry was in Viet Nam and Spook and his new wife came to visit on Christmas Eve and Smitty had been out all night, caroling I'm sure, and he scratched at the front door. Mother let him in as she was still talking to Spook and Smitty followed and deposited a road flattened, frozen, rabbit in the center of the living room. Smit was sooooo proud of his "kill".
The year Dad had to leave midnight Mass to get the drunken teenagers, John where were you that night, off the roof of St. Ambrose.
The first Christmas I was dating Maureen and she bought me "The Duke" football, which I still have.
That might have been the same year Michael came home with the thrift store raccoon coat and floppy jeff cap and posed for pictures in our yard with Maureen. Mr. O'Hare kept one of them on his bureau for years and thought it was me and Maureen.
I got a million of 'em folks.
Man..Wow...some of the best stories. This subject is like opening a closet full of Christmas presents...I'm loving it!
I'd like to publicly state that I Michael P. am hereby vindicating Edward J. of all responsibility for having smashed up my first guitar...tho it was plastic, it was loved by this picker...having been told the truth today, that t'was Timothy J.who committed the crime..I am humbled by my accusations that the baby in the family was at fault.. Forgive me Edward, for I know not what I did..
Now...about that Martin D-28 Brazilian Rosewood, that would today be worth an estimated $10,000 to $20,000...for that I will have to think about it some more...
yes, when that guitar fell, that was not a good day...
another one...Mother starched and ironed my red alter boy uniform (cassock and vest?) for Christmas midnight mass. It was snowing like crazy but off I went. She was so proud as I walked out the door with plastic protecting the church "Uni". I took one step off the porch into the deep snow and proceeded to roll, head over heels down the full set of steps. The cassock and vest was now wrapped around me, full of snow. I remember her laughing out loud brushing me off. I continued on and was voted best looking alter boy that night...I think.
Was she laughing as hard as she did when she slid on the snowbank going to midnight mass while we all stood there hysterical?
Was it as hard as when she laughed when she smushed the lemon meringue pie in Michael's face?
As hard as when she laughed when Gerry stuck his elbow through the tile ceiling?
As hard as she was laughing when she played in the Father - Son basketball game at St. Ambrose?
AS hard as she laughed at Michael and Smitty running up and down, up and down the stairs a zillion times to see if dumb Smitty would follow? Smitty the one of the two without the bad ticker?
As hard as.....
These posts are great! I love hearing about the "D" Street days. I could listen to my Dad go on forever when he opens up the old "memory chest" of chilhood tales... Good stuff. -seana
Great post topic Gerald Pea!!! This was the best one yet. Why can't Slim ever post topics like this?
Most Christmases, Santa would bring me a new baby doll--probably knowing that as the only girl, I would enjoy such a girlie toy. NOT! Mother told me that I would "play" with the doll by undressing her/combing out her pretty, curly hair & that was it! Do I feel bad about that? Yes!...and I wish I had some of those dolls today.
Christmas '54:
I remember how excited Mother was to open her gifts from Dad. There were several, new MATERNITY outfits; I particularly remember a brown, 2-piece number (brown was one of her FAVORITE colors). She was looking forward to May, when "the Christ child" (so nicknamed because of his curly, blond hair) would be born. I couldn't wait, either! She then went on to show off her new outfits to Aunt Mary Hughes, Mrs. Schiambi & Jeanne Quirk--who ALL decided it would be a good idea to have another baby that year--at age "40"!
How about the year Mother decorated the tree in all blue lights; she was sooo happy with that tree! THAT WOULD BE THE TREE THAT "FELL" WHILE ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS WERE AT 4918, WHILE ALL THEIR PARENTS VISITED @ MC GEEHANS' HOUSE!!!) I don't think the true story was ever revealed!!!
Not-the-Guilty-One
My favorite X-Mas was Monday, December 25th 2006... WHY? The grizzled veteran subbing for an injured Donovan McNabb, Jeff Garcia, led the 8-6 Philadelphia Eagles to play the 9-5 Dallas Cowboys in a game which would decide the NFC East champion. The Eagles won 23-7 by jumping on the back of Brian Westbrook in the tune of 122 rushing yards and relying on a stingy defense which gave up only 7 points to the high powered offense of the Cowboys. This kicked off a 3 game losing streak for the Cowboys, capped off by their humiliating defeat in the first round of the playoffs to the Seattle Seahawks. That game featured one of Tony Romo's biggest blunders, a fumbled snap while kicking the winning field goal. The Eagles on the other hand were in the middle of a 6 game win streak including a playoff win against the favored Giants. The Eagles eventually lost to the New Orleans Saints in the divisional playoffs. Great X-Mas!
lil' Pea,
You crack me up! Christmas memories and you think of the Eagles ha, ha, ha. Your parents probably spent 8 zillion dollars on presents, it's the birth of The Christ Child, 52 quadzillion dollars is spent to commercialize it every year, retail merchants make or brake it over the Christmas season, wars are stopped for Christmas and you think of the Eagles, Cowboys and Donovan McNabb. Priceless. Oh to be single again....
For the record; I was not the one who knocked over the tree. I don't even remember that tree. I was busy shoveling Scheckman's sidewalk for a bag of gorgeous ties.
This is such a great post! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the memories!
Funny, our Mother did NOT laugh the day she slid on the ice and landed on her butt in front of our house. Or, maybe she did but we couldn't tell because we were all laughing so hard! I think that was the ONLY time we have ever laughed at her!
Love you Mother!!
Patty
The blogging just continues on this one... For the record, we also had a Christmas where Stevie McDermott knocked over the tree! Naturally, we all laughed our butts off, while Dad tried to straighten the thing up and rescue the trains that were buried underneath...or was that Alyce under the tree, looking for something other than a Baby Doll..poor Alyce, deep down I know she wanted a Daisy Air Rifle and Chucks!!
Which brings me to my favorite Thanksgiving... November 27th, 2008. Cardinals at Eagles. Eagles kick butt. Greatest Thanksgiving ever!
Which brings me to my favorite Thanksgiving... November 27th, 2008. Cardinals at Eagles. Eagles kick butt. Greatest Thanksgiving ever!
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