Happy Holidays!
J. Glenn Eugster
Fontana Free Press
December 6, 2005
Alexandria, VA. As I was helping my wife put up our Christmas tree
I thought that the holidays have been happy and sad. It is easy to recall
the great fun we had at Grandma's sharing gifts, eating and waiting for the
antics to begin after dinner. I remember spending time in the basement of
East Hills with Dad as he built plywood Santa's that were to grace people's
lawns. Most of the days leading to the holidays were always filled with
love, excitement and enjoyment.
Interestingly the holidays that weren't traditional still come to mind as
I hang the lights around the tree each year. For example, I recall my
first Christmas memory was one Christmas eve when Dad spent the entire
night trying to put together a bicycle they bought for me--it was called
"Dam Bike". He couldn't do it because he drank to much beer and
not all the parts were included. It was exciting getting a bike even if
it didn't work and the extra portion of holiday stress was an appetizer
for the years to come.
One year in Philadelphia, living on 6th and Catherine Streets, the heat
went out Christmas eve and we couldn't get it fixed. We spent part of
Christmas Day frolicking with other lost souls at Dirty Franks Bar where
it was warm but not necessarily festive. Our landlord offered to put us
up in a motel in Camden, NJ--one of the murder capitals of the US, but we
opted to tough-it-out instead. My sense was that if Dad and Mom could do
without heat for years I could manage for a few days.
Another holiday I recall is the Christmas eve Dad came home drunk and
caused a Battle Royale with Mom. He was really wacked-out and the furry
filled the room. I couldn't cope so I took the car and headed for town
looking for an old flame. I drank at the Appletree for a while and then
set out to find my love. She was out with her Polish boyfriend that
evening so I decided to sit next to a tree in her driveway and wait for
her. I waited for hours, in the December cold, until I couldn't stand it
any longer.
I got up and went to her families back door and went inside the mudroom
for a while. That to was cold so I tried the kitchen door--which I thought
would be unlocked for my flame. It was in fact open and I quietly let
myself in. I crept into the living room, took off my coat and stretched
out on the floor while the family slept upstairs. I decided the floor was
the best place to wait so that when my love came home she would see me and we
could talk.
In the morning, after sunrise, I awoke to the sounds of my loves sister
coming down the stairs to open her gifts. She screamed when she saw me
and ran upstairs to let her parents know that "Glenn is asleep on
the living room floor". The parents came down, in their night-clothes and
greeted me. My love hadn't come home that night because it snowed heavily
and she had to spend the night with her boyfriend. The parents
were cool about my visit, asked me to staff for breakfast and suggested I
hang out until the roads were plowed.
The roads didn't get plowed until later in the morning, when my flame
returned home. I explained that I needed to leave and couldn't talk
because I had to get home to celebrate Christmas. By the time I got to
North Oakwood my sister and mother had left for Grandma's and Dad was still
sleeping his hangover off on the couch. The day was spent in a fit of
holiday loathing and the emptiness of not begin with the family for
Christmas stayed with me for a good while.
It is good that I spend the holidays with my family, and
others, as we all look forward rather than backwards. Sharing the holidays
with those who really do enjoy the season is good for the heart and the
mind.
J. Glenn Eugster
Fontana Free Press
December 6, 2005
Alexandria, VA. As I was helping my wife put up our Christmas tree
I thought that the holidays have been happy and sad. It is easy to recall
the great fun we had at Grandma's sharing gifts, eating and waiting for the
antics to begin after dinner. I remember spending time in the basement of
East Hills with Dad as he built plywood Santa's that were to grace people's
lawns. Most of the days leading to the holidays were always filled with
love, excitement and enjoyment.
Interestingly the holidays that weren't traditional still come to mind as
I hang the lights around the tree each year. For example, I recall my
first Christmas memory was one Christmas eve when Dad spent the entire
night trying to put together a bicycle they bought for me--it was called
"Dam Bike". He couldn't do it because he drank to much beer and
not all the parts were included. It was exciting getting a bike even if
it didn't work and the extra portion of holiday stress was an appetizer
for the years to come.
One year in Philadelphia, living on 6th and Catherine Streets, the heat
went out Christmas eve and we couldn't get it fixed. We spent part of
Christmas Day frolicking with other lost souls at Dirty Franks Bar where
it was warm but not necessarily festive. Our landlord offered to put us
up in a motel in Camden, NJ--one of the murder capitals of the US, but we
opted to tough-it-out instead. My sense was that if Dad and Mom could do
without heat for years I could manage for a few days.
Another holiday I recall is the Christmas eve Dad came home drunk and
caused a Battle Royale with Mom. He was really wacked-out and the furry
filled the room. I couldn't cope so I took the car and headed for town
looking for an old flame. I drank at the Appletree for a while and then
set out to find my love. She was out with her Polish boyfriend that
evening so I decided to sit next to a tree in her driveway and wait for
her. I waited for hours, in the December cold, until I couldn't stand it
any longer.
I got up and went to her families back door and went inside the mudroom
for a while. That to was cold so I tried the kitchen door--which I thought
would be unlocked for my flame. It was in fact open and I quietly let
myself in. I crept into the living room, took off my coat and stretched
out on the floor while the family slept upstairs. I decided the floor was
the best place to wait so that when my love came home she would see me and we
could talk.
In the morning, after sunrise, I awoke to the sounds of my loves sister
coming down the stairs to open her gifts. She screamed when she saw me
and ran upstairs to let her parents know that "Glenn is asleep on
the living room floor". The parents came down, in their night-clothes and
greeted me. My love hadn't come home that night because it snowed heavily
and she had to spend the night with her boyfriend. The parents
were cool about my visit, asked me to staff for breakfast and suggested I
hang out until the roads were plowed.
The roads didn't get plowed until later in the morning, when my flame
returned home. I explained that I needed to leave and couldn't talk
because I had to get home to celebrate Christmas. By the time I got to
North Oakwood my sister and mother had left for Grandma's and Dad was still
sleeping his hangover off on the couch. The day was spent in a fit of
holiday loathing and the emptiness of not begin with the family for
Christmas stayed with me for a good while.
It is good that I spend the holidays with my family, and
others, as we all look forward rather than backwards. Sharing the holidays
with those who really do enjoy the season is good for the heart and the
mind.
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