Christmas

‘Tis less than a month before Christmas but already lots of pholks are in full gear with shopping, hanging lights, and reviewing their card-sending lists.

And there are those who insist on standing in line to pay hundreds of bucks to buy the latest PlayStation edition or other ultra-high-tech games. It's still a little early to have my Salad Shooter, Clapper and Chia Pet nightmare but I admit some related thoughts already are making their way into my nighttime dream sequences. I have yet to awaken in a Salad Shooter sweat but I know the time will come as Christmas Eve nears.

But I am attempting this year, pholks, to spend a little more time on a few more positive holiday thoughts. I was asked by some friends to jot down a few thoughts of my more memorable Christmas times. I did so and I believe it only proper to share them with you, even if you are still trying to figure out the lighting scheme for the front yard or the rooftop or make a final decision on whether to fork over the big bucks for one of those high-tech built-in lights Christmas trees.

Maybe a brief stop in the past will give you time to think such things through.

As some of you pholks may know, I was raised in a small historic community in the Mother Lode area.

In a small community, neighbors tend to be close, although not always by distance.

During my childhood years, my mother made it a point to create a holiday wreath which we took to a historic brick-walled building which at that time was used as a second home by its owners, the Hunter family. The building, which many years before served as the office for a historic flour mill and subsequent hydroelectric generating plant adjacent to Knight's Ferry's famed covered bridge (billed as the longest at 322 feet) covered bridge west of the Mississippi River) has since been restored and is a historical site.

When the Hunters owned the property, family members who lived most of the time in the Bay Area, came to spend the holidays and much of the summer in the small home. The holiday wreath just seemed to put a special “welcome home” glow to the front door of the tiny structure.

When the Hunters arrived, so did a box of See's Candies at our house. As a youngster, I looked forward to the See's, especially the ones with the green mint and chocolate.

Another fond holiday memory was when our family hiked about two miles in a rather remote portion of our family's ranch property (on a separate property from the home site) where we topped a medium-sized pine tree for our Christmas. It might not have been the perfect Christmas tree I've ever had but it's the one I will always remember. It was from the property which had been in our family for about one hundred years, not planted, not cared for, except by the hand of God. But that pine ended up being pampered and made beautiful for a family to enjoy. I have no idea what I got that Christmas, probably socks, a jacket or a pair of Levis, but I remember that tree.

The wreaths my mother lovingly created for the long-time neighboring family friends and that Christmas tree we cut from our own property are priceless because they held the true meaning of the Christmas spiritsharing the joy of the season with those we love and cherish.

Miles can be reached at mshuper@valleyvoicenewspaper.com