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NhhetosharemetttoriesoftmrChriatmatsecPtsrhaps tuimxmdhttppestedbaautreMthefinrttorperhapesitwas justfam 1tstuChrigtmasi973andmrbpyfriettd,hi_herand Ihadetoutat2aan.rhxxmber24todrivetoptime Bdmtrdhilap4inartoldvolumigeplkrtlt.reweeallip highspiriu.We-goingtnispertdtheholidarwithtlteir pttrentrsin8umrtteraide. Mybqyfriendhadsmrudhisitihasabarenderhefore ,ee1eh,ssoonasweweresufikimtlypaiMumtrs,1trsokover thewheelwhilehedept, NotltmgaNrthat,theweather hxantaadeteriorateieignifkantlyandhrthetimewegrkto BAevil1e,wewensaltmedtnasnail'tspaaslxxause0fity musandwehadtoaontstantlrxrapetheinsidtsofthewim tbwtrtoridthemditxs(anrmeshohashadaBtsetleinthe winterkntmswhatrmeanrAmundKimptrm,tlteiaronthe madame about five an. thick, Momming painfully altrwlrttndallofairudden,wefbundt_mPflveseittirypinthe midiknaingthemsthoundlartes.itallhappettedina tttatterofiseamds! Wededuasdfrunthedgaretteaghetstutwereallovermy botriend'tabrehertuttheatrhadiid,Plkdedlan!8d oeiiuwheew.Neaikststotmr,thaomsthtsend0tmydri- vimrsrttatifith_mxrhttha.t.thtd.ritrxrtytitmn tG"iet-tttit,nmritaumitiwirltttFmthintr, tttrr-ttri-tim-ttarte-led'"." ttto-noir-Grd-tie-hits/yt?"' iiiii.Vitiaiitr-dttr-tLiitirhtira6attutim"rt" . ' -"""-""'""""a'i""'""iri"e"'A"hBt+ '"""P"""""P"" nuryuzuwnau. c!tn?t.Pae:ythr'siinrtpyittzttast Iihilitr.Nytttthermoverts-iththe43niAitiIiery,rnkk. WhatatembleshockWehadtogr‘veourfoodawanyohn 1er8dPape,t.ettiejtss.tts,her.tutdte irxrti.10a,ditretndthatwasthetmirinannethatourhmiiy andItrudgedupttndthwnasmrasrourl-ouldcarryus 1ttrrerudihterintoSmta'okigh-a1tm, htdrmstdtedhelpltiuyatrmymahersataying--wehad butnoonetvuuldclairnthehamperwearyandarki,wepkxr thdirthltttndhat&daouthtoDviort,ohio-and ttotree,rtopresentaandnohodfbrourChrigtmasdinner, dedhomethmughthesnowandmrriedmehamperback Grandma'e. Ttiepinmrdidhhem'sdmissaid,monttzrMarna,itwill inside. beqtltingistsanedhteattimt,hmreverm'd beal1right!" "h%na,noottewanuit.Evevmesaidweshouldkseptt Jutptt.-9kttt0hio.setrtefieittttitlytt Sxmafter,theeewasaknoekattheasor,Mama,notmms Canwe'?"Ipleadai, 'rehadtotrippedthrusdonthewtwhidthe1dthe ingtmrmetoseehertmratainaifhse,isentmetoanswerit, Whatawonderfuldinnerrnymamarnadeforus-roast fanbeltWestoppedeever-altimesbutontheSat- Wheniopenedtlteaor,thetewatrnooneinsightbutjuat grxxe,irehvtxretahles,imtatoescplurnpuddingandcandyfor urrht)tefirChriatmasnogtmtgearuidhsgpui, ixsidethetkorwasMargehamper.Iealkdtnylittlebreher allofus. 1r1rremadeotakmhiftrepairandkeptoitgoing. Johntohelptneearryitinside.WeaslledMamatoarmeand Nowonderlstillbelieveinmimdes! We'djutrtpaatsedadgnwhiehrmd"mytrm-f0 look. Iwillbe87onJan. 12,1995andlrememberthisstoryasif IrtBafxdtentheboltudingthepu1leyforthefan 'Bee,Mama,hsaidit msuldbeallright.t'Hsangjoyfully. it were only last year. beltparneapasWithnofhnbeK,theiaarwatsgting ButMtunaaaid,"No,Ruth,thaeimstforus-itmuatbea rtorrherehrrdttr bekeethtrirtmaismsmsre mistake. You andJohnny put on your coats and bootaandput Ruth ODroumky winded beside 1-75 with an infant and a toddler. Myhughandgrkout,lifudupthehoodandtriedto figureouthaamewaytogetflrefanbelt o. . PM trxrtherenoughtogetusthathut Th kindn Tw birth to I b te mmileeorao.‘l‘imepaseedaslwartedinsidethe e ess 0 S ce e ra wwiththe children. The oargotaald Thtifie f tr Christmas, 1993 was the most special Christmas that will always be num- whixmdpattEvevmewatsinahurrytogetto o a S anger beronein myheartAlthoughlneverrnadelttoachurch semce,alarge their own destinations. family gathering or an offiae party, it was the most memorable Chnstrnat My husband had just about given up whens Rhertimts10rsarsoid,mrchristan" ever. Exactly one week before Christmas. our precious son Jason was born lt vtoiasbesidehimasAed,Nkteartmuhle?" stsmtpingmomsyeamehomtstsomttinationM wastohimthatisangalltheoldchristmash.smnsandcartylsaslmcka The speaker was ayoungman who had seen our my allowance and neighborhood snow shov- him back to sleep very close to Christmas dawn. Chnsunas day was a day ontarioplatrsandsstoppedtoteeifheamldhelp, etiirtgimxmte.twassdoinggreFtdpre. filledwithfamily,loveanrwy.Nowasthe holidayseasonisuIxm us,we Realizingthattherewasmhhimrheamlddo,he ireM0trmyttrother,GrandrnaandDttd have twospecia] birthstocelebraterJesus'andJaaon‘s, . turnedtoleaveandlookedsh'aightintomecarJ-‘or bougheMommtaksfttottuyfbrandrknew 1auaMsmtgomee thehattime,hemalimdthattheresmeyoung 'sxaetlrwhatghemutted-nhottuofTtgr- . childrenintheear.Histolduslaterthatthetewat, cologne. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ nowayhebgznuldleaveafarn‘itllyfrom8111;.‘t23n1fl1‘::;as "mtttoseanrinthePnirwiewPttrkMidl mended 'detheroadso new . . and ickedu abottieofotMonNdesirqsqhe . Hedkredutsan'detoGrandrna's.We-goirg 'll'i'2"l"lr,'l'l'h'dtTSh'r"e',"Jllrl',l'd', One dozen oranges-13 Children tothesouthddeofDaytonandhewaagoingtothe touitstndmyutst$10ttilltotherxmnter,The MyGnmdpaGene'sfimdastchristznassmermisofChristmasin north.Wewerewhite,hewarblath.Yethewent 'saahierrangitinandmyheartsanhtttohe 1926whensantahmyughthimandhisbmthersandsistersaazen motethan20tnilesoutoniswaytogetourhrnily "id,'9ituli,p1eass"rdidrt'ttigure'mthetan oranges. hurteforChriistmasWhenwetexprmtsedourgratr. Ihndrotellherlcouldn‘tbuytheoologne- GrmeingupinalargefamilyirtthesnalltowniutCrme tudeforhiskindness,heshnrggedandsaid."l‘his alirudmttrtendoi1tms,aetoidrneahe'dbe thttario,myGmndpaandhisfiamilyksanNtotnaketkwttlwutalotof ismyChriatmaapreenttothe_"Afterms Hgtttbaehartdeamebaehm'thherwaiiet, tluhpnhemhre,whenSantarernembermithemandbrmsghtthedur arrivedatGrandma’s,wefoundouttlmtmyfather tmAtotuarerout,putitirtthetilitutdsaid drettathuenorangtsatChrirtmastheyaruldnthavelxxmhappsernhe wat, giekand muld mt have come after utr. M-Christmas, only thing, as they soon discovered, was that there were 13 children and TenramshavepaasedsimxsthatChrigtaiaa.The "antedtopayherbttekbuttrhesaid,"aust onlr12omngestogrrartmndThepmNemwassoonsmlvedwheneachof DotigeColthaskmgsinasbeenretirednhebahyig tt+ooemhodreisermttttChritrtmtoomer the12okktstehiidrertreasivsianomngetelirtgsorryfbrtheir anatklesasnt,herisiaterateenager,We'vehad tirtts'HntNerdidknowhernamebutl ym1ngeatsister,Rita,thechildrxodivideduptheirorangesamiea:hgave manytripsto0hiosinasthenbuteachtimewe mmemberherhinOeteveeyChriatmasn oneitoher.WhestmythandpathinksofthatChristmastoday, 1oadupthesleigh,msneverfailtorememherthe tsuormmmherto'he1piromettodyeueoutat almost70yearslatem'realwayslaughswhenhesays‘Withonesbmof gtnmgerwhowentoutofhiswaytoofrerutsaid. ChHatanatt"tmMhssshomydrnetheytygivirtg orzmgefrtmteadtbetstheran0iater,tnylittlesitaermadeoutlxsstdallf overtheye-e'veametothinkofhimasour eantm'ngntthristms= Christmas Angel Two special Christmas memories WWW Gun! "antedtopayher back but she said, “Just heh"omebodreiseoutatChritrtmtoome tirttcHneverdidhtowhernamebutI mmemberherkindaeteveryChrthtmasn tsuoreammherto'he1ptsomettodyeueoutat ChHatanatt"tmMheihomsdrnettteioygivirtg DaveSchneider WWWWWWWW686WWWW0-66trt9t9 Itmttsaasld,hleUDeasmherM, 1916.Iwatstheelderstd ttytedti1ttrmandttttseve-dd,thatmusquitearepors Iihilitr.Wttttttermoverts-iththe43niAitiIiery,rnkk. irxrti.10a,dmtndthatwasthetmirinannethatourhmiiy htdrmstdtedhelpltiuyasrmrmaherssataying--wehad ttotree,rtopretsentaandnohodfbrourChrigtmasdinner, Ttieninmrehildhhem'sdmisaid,monttzyMarna,itm'll beal1right!" Sxmafter,theeewasaknoekattheasor,Mama,notwans ingtmrmetoseehertmratainaifhse,isentmetoanswerit, Wheniopenedtlteaor,thetewatrnooneinsightbutjuat txsidethetkorwatralargehamperHeal1edtnylittlebreher Johntohelptneearryitinside.WeaslledMamatoarmeand The kindness Tw birth to l b te f t Christmas, 1993 was the most special Christmas that will always be num- o a S ranger her one in my heart. Although I never made It to a church 59mm, a large family gathering or an offiae party, it was the most memorable Chnstma, When I was 10 years old, my Christmas ever. Exactly one week before Christmas. our precious son Jason was born 11 owing money come from a combination of was to him that I sang all the old Christmas hymns and carols as I rocked allowance and neighborhood snow ghov. him back to sleep very close to Christmas dawn, Chnstmas day was a day Ing income. I was doing peat. I had pre- filled with family, love antryry. Now as the holiday season is upon us, we at! for my brother, Grandma and Dad have two special births to celebrate: Jesus' and Jason's . At the station in Montreal, we realized very quickly that that mode of transportation w'as not the solution to our travel problems. We in the city was almost at a standstill and we had to hurdle, in the dark, snowbanks and nits of snow uptooarkneestobeherdedintoataxigoingtothe airport. When we arrived there, my heart sank. There were people everywhere - curled up in corners, amiss seats. their belongings with them or spread around them. Getting out of there anytime soon seemed hopeless - people with whom we talked had already been snowed in there for two days! Nevertheless, my Mend headed out to gtstusimntstkhsM.Aahemtlkedaway,isaidtomytself,nf heettngt*tttsotttihrgusChritrtzttaa,nl marryhim." FULLIHJLL! Ftlustmttsal1hekqrtltearing. Finally, 'att-at-trd til-thew amid-by tickets which he tyliithqeathytiftyreetiettoib, out, the "ttm'arrsoitttmthdhrttii.idiimttistrtittert'ias in little more wave on the roof were the only casualties suf- fered Bythis time,thesun hadriaen and itwasabright beautiful day. Our spirits were resurrected. We stopped in Gananoque to buy a plug-in fan to try to dehmt the from windows but when it burned itself out by Bmckville, we deddedthatwewerentgoingtobethletodrivetothe Iglandlxxause0fthemadsandtheaM.Welxsardedthe tminheadedfbrMontrealtotrrntinueonhytrainfhom there or catch a plane. Many other people must have had the same idaabeaauaeourearwas packed. Andlikeall thesepassen- gem, we slept mat of the trip away. Reason to believe in miracles thmeingupinalargefarnilrirtthesrnalltowniutcrtek, thttario,myGnmdpaandhisfimtilylearmxitotnaketkwihmtalotof thirxpnhemhre,whenSmtaremembemithemandbrt)ughtthedur drmitthuenorangesatChriatmastheyaruldnthavelxwrhappserThe onlything,asthermondismvermi,wasthatthere- 13 thildrenand only 12tmmgtstogoaroundThepmhlemwassoonsmlvedwheneachof the12oldeauhiidrertreasivuitmorantnelirtgsorrytbrtheir yrnngestsiater,Rita,thechildrendivideduptheirwangesamieahgave oneitoher.WhestmythandpathinksofthatChristmastoday, abnost70yeaxslater,healwayslaughswhmhesays‘Withmesboeof tmmgefrtmteadtbeeherandtsitrter,mylittlesiaterrnndeoutlxsstdallf WATERLOO MONICLE, WEDNESDAY. DEGEWER 2t, 1990 - PAGE 13 "Miuna, no one wants it Everyone said we should keep t Canwe?’lpleaded. Wutammderfuldinnermymamarnadetorus-roast m, fresh vegetables. potatoes, plum pudding and candy for o us. No wonder I still believe in miracles! Iwillhe87onJan.12,1995andIrernemberthisstoryasif it were only last year. thehamperonthegleiglvYoueanathupandawnthestrxet ifanrmeownsiU' Whata temhleihoekWehadtogiveourhodawtty! John artdItrudgaiupttndthmtatrfuraaourl-ouldatrryus butnoonemudclairnthehamper.Wearyandaski,weplotr dedhtmtethrrmghthe-andcarziedthehamperbmk Justashearrivedbehindher_lledout,nhasethrxe more boarding passes for Charlottetown. Who's next?" My boyfriend was right there and he said, "l am" so she handed him the passes. Within 30 minutes. we won: airborne and made it to his parents' home late Christmas Eve. We had no Christmas presents. His brother and I had left ours m the car in Brockville and my boyfriend had spent his money intended for buying presents to purchase our mrlme tackets And to add insult to injury, it was a mild, green Chnstmas on the Island. Mer we slept for 12 hours. we had a wr} enjoyable holiday and although at the tame. l was fwhng much anxiety and fear, nowthis is a very humorous story to tell - theynpkasantme ftxgotten (much like childbirth, I fear). MyeamdtrpedalChristmasme-isof1975when teeremanietionlhamberak front of him and said, Those people an on the warm; Inst and go before you do." Heretumedtowherehisbrotherandlhadcaeioutu) report his progress. ‘CAN'I' is not usually in lus vtxabulary but at that moment it was on the tsp onus tongue As he startedtositdownwith utoisfatigueandthestmin ofthe day dearly showing on his face. I said, "You cant stay here Go back to the gate. That's where things are happening." So hedidbuttogetthroughtotheairlinetdesk,hehadtxsgrs mund the crowd, in behind the attendant and her work sm-