free4rms
freely admits to licking rocks
My little pet walrus
Member since January 2007
Posts: 839
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Post by free4rms on Dec 24, 2010 8:39:55 GMT -5
Well, I have to say this was the toughest contest to pick a winner for yet! But after reading and re-reading all the answers, I couldn't get Jo's story about her father at Christmas out of my mind. This is such a wonderful story and so beautifully written, I selected it as the winning entry. Pm me with your address, Jo, and the prize is on it's way. So now we are down to the final contest. I am making the question as easy as I can with the greatest chance for lots of anwers: Tell us about you most memorable Christmas. It can be memorable for any reason you can think of. I have saved what I think is the best prize of all for last. This is a pendant made from phantom quartz. I have to confess that I did not make it, but I did electroform the gold cap on top. Phantom quartz is clear quartz with moss like inclusions. When you look at it in person, it appears that you are looking through a magnifying glass at the moss inside. I think the winner will really like it. So here is one last chance to win... let's see which story takes the grand prize.  Vance |
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Post by sitnwrap on Dec 24, 2010 11:13:04 GMT -5
Jo, your story affected me the same way. Your heart and mind instictively captured that one beautiful moment for you for always.
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Post by cpdad on Dec 24, 2010 12:29:45 GMT -5
i was hoping to be able to tell this story...just didnt fit in with the other questions so much....this will be long.
my mom was a double amputee above the knees...and 1 of those women that wouldnt let anything stop her from doing what she wanted...or so she thought
christmas morning...i was 16 at the time and had a new girlfriend...so i had to go to her house for christmas dinner also...mom told me to put the pan with the turkey in it into the oven and push the rack back and she would handle everything from there...i did and told her i would be back in about 4 hours...my other brothers were also gone...so she was all alone...which was fine with her...she was in the kitchen cooking...her favorite place and thing to do.
mom got everything cooking...so she had a few minutes on her hands and wanted some ice cream...we had one those freezers that had a single door on it just like a fridge...it used to be on the carport...but we brought it into the kitchen for her since she could no longer get to it out there...she took the ice cream out and put it on the counter...but forgot to shut the freezer door.
well...yaw know those little aluminum rails that go around the shelves that stop stuff from falling out of the door.
some how as she was rolling around in the kitchen....1 of the handles on the back of her wheelchair got caught in between that rail and the shelf of the open door...mom was stuck...stuck in a place she could not reach anything...food was on the stove cooking...ice cream on the counter melting...and no one around except the dog.
when i got home and opened the door i could smell stuff burning...i walked into the kitchen and seen mom sitting in front of the freezer door...i said mom whats burning....all she said to me was...turn the stove off and get me a blanket...confused i said mam...she said son turn the stove off and get me a blanket...i turned the stove off and got a blanket....she had been in front of that freezer door for over 2 hours...she wrapped the blanket around her...and said to me.
would you unhook this F#$&%^ wheel chair from the freezer door ;D..my eyes got big..mom didnt cuss ;D.....i had to rip that rail apart to get her loose....when loose she went straight to the stove and started getting the burnt food in the pans into the sink like not much happened.
after a few minutes of thinking about her being hung up like that...i realized this could have had a terrible ending with the stove on...so i asked her why didnt she just jump down and scoot to the phone....she reminded it was only a month earlier that she had her 2nd leg removed and she was scared of busting open her nub if she jumped down and bleeding to death before anyone got there....she said if the stove caught fire...she was going to jump down and get out of the house....she said she would rather bleed to death in the yard than burn up in the house.
that christmas we had turkey sandwiches and cranberry sauce for dinner....as the turkey in the oven didnt burn......and found out a little aluminum rail was probably the only thing that could bring mom to a complete stand still ;D.....kev.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller 
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,496
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Post by Sabre52 on Dec 24, 2010 13:38:37 GMT -5
My story here is probably nothing too special but it meant a lot to my family and to me as a young child.
My father had ended up in the army for WWII, right after college and, when he first got out and married my mom, like a lot of young vets families, they were pretty broke. Pop had a degree in Zoology but no jobs were to be found so he went to work for the postal service in Oakland, CA where I was born. Not having a lot of money, we lived in a walkup apartment in a big yellow boarding house in which, even back then, was not a real good neighborhood. The first Christmas I can remember my big present was a big hollow wooden toy box shaped and painted like a huge drum. Since the rooming house was right on the street with no yard, this drum sitting on the sidewalk, became by play area that Christmas but the next was my most memorable, when we finally got a house.
My pop heard of a new tract in Hayward with new homes priced low enough for even the returning soldiers. ( $6000 can you believe that!) So for Christmas that year, we got a new home with yards, front and back, complete with fruit trees ( they had subdivided an orchard) and a 55 X 105 piece of dirt with a small farm just outside the back fence. Aye God, I was in heaven! Got me a new spaniel puppy ( my first pet ever), a pump Daisy BB gun and was wild in the country. Even had a creek to play in complete with Indian shell mounds. Man, I hunted, fished for non existent fish with a cane pole ( creek only had minnows) and must've dug a thousand fox holes to play army in with the neighbor kids. We built tree houses, rode our Flexi-racers and scooters in the street and learned how to play kick the can. Not too may cars in those days. After the Oakland ghetto it was incredible and definitely my most memorable Christmas ever.....Mel
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Post by NatureNut on Dec 24, 2010 19:51:36 GMT -5
Oh my goodness Kev, your Mom is one amazing dynamo! Mel, what wonderful memories!
We just drove up to DC today, and when I logged on, and seeing this thread, I was amazed. Oh my goodness, this OJ pendant is just beautiful, and I would love to receive it, but...
Vance, and everybody, if it is okay, I would like for it to be sent to Sheri. My story is about appreciating the people in your life, now, because you never know how much time you'll have with them... but Sheri has surpassed the message of my story, because she knows every new moment is a bonus, and she is making the most of those moments, days, weeks, and years. She's used some of that precious time to organize RTH trips, and run special RTH threads that connect us, and has reminded us how important it is to be grateful for our blessings by paying it forward.
So, I'm gonna send you Sheri's address and thank you again for running this contest.
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Dec 24, 2010 20:10:59 GMT -5
I have been reading this comp from the start, and have to say I've been almost to tears with emotion (both from laughing and from the heart warming stories) several times.
Thank you Vance for such an awesome contest, and thanks everyone else for sharing your stories.
Merry Christmas!
Nate
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,105
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Post by Thunder69 on Dec 25, 2010 0:12:06 GMT -5
This year instead of gifts we decided to write a letter to one of our family members chosen at random.I recieve my nephew... This is my letter to him and of our hoilday traditions
This is my letter /story for you.
A Christmas Day
As I sit to write this letter, I can’t help but think back to the early Christmas holidays we have had .A smile broadens my face as I remember the” Before the early bird “call to get us up to come see what Santa had brought. I think if it was any earlier we would have been there by about the time Santa was going back up the chimney. Being greeted at the door by a wide -eyed ,grinning Child who has been filled with the adrenaline of giftwrap destruction, I would have to say that the big grin on your face was a present in itself.
After the show and tell and my attempts to figure out how some of the toys worked, it was on to the breakfast. Just what an excited child needs is more fuel to run on……
Fast forward to around four hours later, we meet again at MamMaws house for the next round of food and fun. I would think a child who has been up since the crack of dawn would start to tire out, but alas I am wrong. Have I mentioned more fuel. Again. It starts with a nudge ,then reach out and try to grab, then the chase. It is now time to don my Wrestling persona King Of The Ring.
I chase you from one side of the yard to the other and I think I have the upper hand…But wait you have a cunning plan , you bring out your brother and sister. You know it is only a matter of time before you will defeat me . I put up the good fight ,Even though I am young I am no match .In the end I become the pony you didn’t get As I lay on the ground exhausted you come over and hug me an we finally call a truce…Your energy is starting to fade, but the smile remains.
These are the days I will remember for the rest of my days.
I have been blessed to have you in my life and I am so proud of you .
You have grown from a big grinning child into a strong young man and you are not just my nephew , you are also my friend…
“Making your way in the world today takes everything you got,
Taking a break from all your worries ,sure could help a lot….”
You know,
Sometime the words to a T.V. show can also be A pretty good philosophy to have in life.
Work Hard
Love life
Cherish family
Want to wrassle ?
Merry Christmas ....JOhn
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