Yuletide Essays Entered 2002

PLWP Yuletide Essay Contest Awards

We are pleased to announce the award winning essays of the First PLWP Yuletide Essay Contest. They are:

FIRST PLACE            The Littlest Gift by Beth Bennett
SECOND PLACE       Merry Christmas by Larry Royston
THIRD PLACE           First Snow by W. T. Smail

To read award winning essays, simply click on the title.
To read all entries, scroll down.
The original entry details HERE.
Judging procedure and comments HERE.

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All Essay Contest Entries

We are very pleased and proud to share the entries of the 2002 essay contest. We feel each of the essays are winners. They are listed in order of receipt as they are generically labeled. No editing has been done to the entries...spacing adjustments have been done to satisfy graphic design of page.

On behalf of the judges, we thank each participant for this special gift to all of us.

To read entries, simply click on Entry # or scroll down page.

Entry #	Author	Title
1	Jimmie "Toad" Turner	The Christmas I Learned True Meaning 12-07-02
2	Shari Lynn Weaver	Twas the Night Before Christmas (my version)
3	Pauline Neck	A Rain Forest Christmas
4	Larry Royston 2nd Place	Merry Christmas
5	Sister Mary Grace Flynn	A Christmas Ode
6	Georgia Cruz	God's Wrapped Gift
7	Gordon D. Hardacre	The Poetical Parkinsonian : Professor and Patient
8	Patsy Turner	Santa Claus Has Been Had
9	Shari Lynn Weaver	...No Title...
10	Neil G. Fleming	Life is Good
11	Bridgette Howard	...No Title...
12	Kerry Mitchell	...No Title...
13	Beth Bennett 1st Place	The Littlest Gift
14	Lynda McKenzie	The Christmas Gift
15	Lynda McKenzie	The Christmas Bazzar
16	Kathy Maggio	Cookies
17	W. T. Smail (Bill) 3rd Place	First Snow
18	Ann T	The Day I Ruined Christmas

Entry #1

The Christmas I Learned True Meaning 12-07-02
by Jimmie "Toad" Turner

In order for you understand the significance of my most memorable Christmas, & how I learned it’s true meaning, I must start on Thursday, July 3rd, 1980.

We were moving back to Arkansas from So. California. I had built a 4X8 box on the top of my ‘72 Ford 3/4 ton pick up truck bed, & it was full to level with our every possession. My wife & four children, ages 5-8, were in the front of the truck with me & it was stifling hot. In fact, one of the worst heat waves in history, & we had no air conditioning.

All of a sudden my truck started smoking & making a rattling noise. I was near an exit to Elk City, Oklahoma, so I pull off of the highway. Thankfully there was a gas station open there. The mechanic said my thermostat had stuck & my warning dash light was out. I had driven too far with a very hot motor & there was oil in the water. The only thing I understood was that the motor was shot, & no help was to be had till Monday, & this was Thursday afternoon. It was literally 106 degrees in the shade & there was no shade.

After many calls, I reached a brother that would come rescue us, if we could pay for his gas. I was broke, so I sold my truck for $200 to the gas station mechanic. We unloaded the truck & waited 8hrs for my brother. Since we weren’t paying customers we had to wait outside in the heat.

We had rented, in advance, a small 2 bedroom house, that was 24mi, one way, from town. My brother had us there by the night of July 4th. No electric till Monday, but we had shelter. So there we were, 24mi out in the sticks, no car, no fans, no appliances, & just enough money for the electric to be turned on. At least we had well water.

We were on 105 acres that was largely wooded, so I took the .22 & hunted. The timber had been selective cut, so there were a lot of “tops” there. My landlord, Ron, furnished a chain saw & gas, & paid me $10 a rick for firewood, to be resold at a later date. Cutting & stacking firewood in 105+ heat was no fun. I’d work awhile, be sick, rest awhile, & start over. The next week, Ron picked me up & he bought a used refrigerator. I thought I was just there to help load it, but tears flooded me when he said, “This is yours. You’ll pay it off by working my farm, part time.” Shoveling liquid chicken litter on a commercial poultry farm for $3 an hour’s no fun either.

Days turned to weeks & we existed by the grace of God, though I can’t really say how. I thought we were in hard times but little did I know they were just starting. The heat wave was over & it was mid October. & I was “disking” a field for Ron. First you break fallow ground with a disk. Then you go back & pick up large roots & rocks & haul them away. I was in a very low gear & hopped off the moving tractor, tossed a big root on the disk & was climbing up on the tractor when my muddy boot slipped on the belly pan into the moving tire. The tire grabbed my over-alls & pulled my right foot & leg through a 4” space, between the tire & belly pan. This resulted in my ankle breaking on both sides, & would take a year to heal.

In November we run out of propane & stayed out for six months. We heated & Patsy cooked with a woodstove. I had stockpiled plenty of wood, but had not split it. I would get on my knees & split the wood because I was in a cast. My 6yr old twin boys would carry & stack it. We took ice cold showers with unheated well water.

During this time people I never saw, before or since, dropped of groceries or a few dollars. Hunger & strife will put pride in its place. I learned the meaning of “praying in supper.” Water gravy & beans with no grease or salt, was normal table fare. Groundhogs, raccoons, squirrels, robins, woodpeckers & such were “chicken” to the kids. And then it was Christmas time & there was NO money.

Christmas 1980 looked worse than bleak, until Christmas Eve. Don McGee, a newly acquired friend & some of his friends had bought out a whole garage sale of toys. They repaired the broke ones, refurbished the used ones, & added some brand new ones. They also added a food basket with fixings for a grand Christmas dinner. The night before Christmas I learned what Christmas truly meant. It was/is the best Christmas of my life.

Actually, I had been receiving the Christmas spirit for months, without realizing it. Strangers willing to answer the call of God, thereby meeting my urgent need. They gave freely, willingly, & respectfully. I learned the true meaning of Christmas is living it all year long even though it’s formally celebrated just once a year.

I learned that time can be a greater gift than money. I experienced manna from Heaven in ways not understandable or believable to man. In many ways, the year after July 3rd, 1980, was the best of my life. I learned to trust in God & He never failed me. I realized I had a partner in Patsy that never complained, nor could be run off. I experienced true friendship. Now I know why the hardest lessons are those remembered best.

Entry #2

Twas the Night Before Christmas (my version)

by Shari Lynn Weaver

Twas the night before Christmass and all through the house

All the creatures were sleeping - all but Parky the mouse.

The stockings were hung up on the stairway rail

With the wish that Santa would fill them up well

The little ones were all tucked in nice and warm

While Parky the mouse creeped up and down his home

Come back to bed now Parky - Momma mouse said to him

Oh I'd love to sweetie, but i can't sleep in bed

My hands are all shaky and my legs just as bad

And I really don't think sleep for me will be had

Parky jumped with a start as he heard such a clatter

And Momma mouse got up too - to see what was the matter

As they looked out their window at the fresh blanket of snow

They understood the noise came from above - not below

Santa was there with his twinkle in his eye

And Parky chuckled when seeing his belly so wide

Hey Momma - look at that - when Santa starts laughing

It looks just like me when pd starts me shaking

Now Parky you are funny - you are making me smile

Let's go back to bed and rest for a while

So Santa can get right back to the task

Of filling our stockings with things we would ask

So Parky and Momma toddled back to their bed

And dreamt of a Merry Merry Mouse Christmas

And that is enough said..

Entry #3

A RAIN FOREST CHRISTMAS

by Pauline Neck

My home town is a beautiful place,

but all this rain is a real disgrace.

Santa and elves must learn how to swim,

the worry is making them terribly thin.

The sleigh must be fitted with mast and a rudder,

to sail through the puddles with hardly a

shudder.

Their snorkles a-flapping and 'wet gear' on

tight,

the reindeer are looking a terrible sight.

While you are still sleeping, all cosy and hot,

Santa and reindeer are sneezing a lot.

So don't worry my friend on Christmas Eve night,

the sound that you hear before morning's light--

It isn't the patter of hooves in the snow,

it's the squelch of reindeer galoshes - ho ho ho!

Did I say I am a nun? Yes, I am a Catholic Sister who does what she is told to do.

Note: This author is not a member of PLWP but cares about those who do have Parkinson's. She requested that we share the following site with our members: http://supersign.tripod.com/thecure.htm

Gordon D. Hardacre MD, CCFP, FCFP
Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine,
University of Toronto, Canada
…..and patient, Toronto Western Hospital Movement Disorders Centre

To begin this story, we went to visit an aunt in Topeka, Kansas, one year for Christmas. Shortly after we arrived they decided that they were going to have to go rent a Santa Claus for their party. Usually Uncle Glen played Santa, but for some reason this year he did not. No Santa was available on this short of notice, so Aunt Anita suggested going and getting a Santa Claus suit. But who would be Santa?

Everything was set up. Aunt Anita and others went shopping. The very next day was the Christmas party.

Santa arrived in all his glory. The kids never noticed the limp, and Santa Claus played the part to the hilt. He passed out presents to young and old alike. Everyone sat on Santa’s lap. You would have thought that he had played this part for many years. He was a pro. Everyone was in stitches from the things he said, and did. To prove all of this I still have the video. It was such a hit, that we began to have Santa visit our house every year.

We now live in a big 2 story house. You could go out our bedroom door, circle the house and come in the living room door. So now we play Santa and Mrs. Claus every year. We would get up early and dress in our outfits, and sneak around the house. Then when we got close to the door, we would start saying, "Ho!Ho!Ho! Merry Christmas, and all the babies would run to the door to let us in.

Then it was time to pass out presents. Everyone from Great grandma and grandpa to the smallest baby sat on Santa’s lap. When all was about over, our grandson, came up to Santa, and said, "Pa, is that you?" Which Santa tried to prove that he was the real Santa. Our grandson tried to pull the beard, to see if it was real. Then he just disappeared for a while.

It was time for Santa and Mrs. Claus to ride away. Everyone came out to say good-bye. We snuck around the house and into our bedroom to change clothes and to return to the scene in the living room.

It wasn’t long before our grandson came back into the room. He said, "Pa, come here." Now he was only 5 yrs. old at this time. So Pa followed him to our bedroom. He pointed to the bed and said, "Now put it on."

There lay the Santa Claus Suit in full living color. Pa (Santa) had been had.

We laughed until we were plum tuckered out. For such a small child, he was very smart.

Time and traditions change every year, but the excitement of the happy looks on the children’s faces stay the same, they are just passed down from one generation to another.

AS i write this collection of words ,it would be my preferance that these thoughts and feelings be dedicated to every living thing on this planet ,and for that matter , any planet. I had adopted a query of wearing a baseball style hat with the saying "Life is good" it also included a little skinny fellow who , epitomized the quotation. Without knowing , this would become the ralling cry that screamed out from the belches of my soul , a message that i was , or so i thought , proud of. Then the darkness set -in. I wa s on a crash to hell! My life fell into disarray and despair. I lost my son to misunderstandings and lack of communication . My love of life , a girlfriend who trusted me and actually loved me, abandoned me and rightfully so for i had taken up arms with an old foe "Gambling". Due to worsening Parkinson's , my life as productive and meaningful worker was to never be again . My plate was full and my cup was spilling over .

It was then that the unbelievable occurred . I was to become a hideous monster that without regard for friends or loved ones , was to forever brand my self "An attempter of Suicide" The holiday season seemed surrealiistic and distant . Lfe was "not good" or so i thought. Then an angel appeared to me . Not an angel that was in the sense of the word pious or foreboding, but in the simplest of manifestations , a human being who, just happened to be one of my dearest friends . She did not judge nor did she purport to have my salvation a hand . Without hesitation she started a regime that has it's basis in the spirit of our holidays whether it be Christmas , Haunakka, or Kwaansa. She laid bare her soul and took my well being and put it to the forefront . We phne deach other every day and she even dug deep int her own pocket and helped me out with some of her holiday money that i came to find out, had been much needed for her own family's holiday.

Without a doubt, ths dear angel had come to me in my worst moment and was the spirit of not only holiday cheer but a genuine caring human being who was the catalyst for saving my future on this big globe and restoring the proud insignia that i had worn on the ball hat that i used to wear that always had been my heroic statement "Life is Good" She quite literally brought me back to the world of the living and gave me a look into the real reasnon we are all thrust together in this universe , compassion , love and genuine care about ourselves and the plight of those who, by some quirk , have lost their way and need some help to "get home whereLIFE IS GOOD"..........

I call Christmas the cycle holiday-everything works in a cycle and don't we expect the same things to occur each year? We look forward to the stores putting their decorations up a little too early (or do we?) and we expect to see our Sunday newspapers littered with bright ads. Our daily news shows highlight the top gifts for kids then show ruthless parents in hot pursuit of them ( tickle-me-Elmo, beanie babies). We look forward to making Christmas lists, a time when everyone returns to their childlike stage of mapping out fantasies. The malls are crawling with moms, dad, teenagers and grandparents searching for that perfect gift. In school students squirm in their seats, twiddle their thumbs and mouth to each other the number of days until break during that boring math class. We look forward to seeing the charmingly tacky Christmas sweaters with the matching sequined shoes and of course the ubiquitous "Santa hat".

Christmas is also a time when schools have clothing drives to remind students that there are others who are less fortunate. In general, its important to step back from the globe of festivity and express gratefulness for all the blessings granted throughout the year. For some, the cycle may seem broken one year because of economic downfall or loss of a loved one. But as long as love exists in the heart the spirit of the cycle will never break. Somehow that evergreen lit with golden charms and multicolored lights bring a small joy into the atmosphere. Joy comes in many forms, while drinking eggnog, opening gifts, seeing friends and family happy or while singing Christmas carols. So as I say, Merry Christmas! and Happy Cycling!