I had an “oh my” moment on Sunday when I saw a commercial advertising plush Rudolph and Clarice toys from the classic Rankin/Bass production of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It seems that Rudolph and Clarice are celebrating 50 years together.
As I lamented on Facebook, I was there for their first date.
Today, December 9, marks the 49th Anniversary of my other childhood favorite A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Rudolph and Charlie Brown are two shows that define the Christmases of my childhood.
I looked forward to them almost as much as I looked forward to the Sears Christmas Wish Book.
I would sit and watch the shows, yes, in black and white back then, by the light of our Christmas tree. Then I knew the Christmas season was upon us.
Of course we were also getting ready for Christmas programs at church, and even school before the days of political correctness turned it into a winter holiday.
That’s not the story here. Don’t get distracted.
It certainly seemed like a busy time, with my Mom wrapping presents in the other room and my counting them over and over when she put them under the tree. But somehow there was no busy-ness like I talked about the other day.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is, of course all about the commercialization of Christmas and Charlie’s search to find the real meaning.
I’ll be heading to Southwest Virginia today for a meeting tomorrow in Roanoke. You may thank me for saving your taxpayer dollars by my spending the night with my parents instead of in the Hotel Roanoke. As I’ve said before, I don’t pass up the opportunities to visit.
It’s not the home I grew up in. Nor is the home I moved away from as an adult. But it’s a home that I’ve known all my life. If you know my family story, you know what I mean. If you don’t know my family story, buy the book when it comes out.
The house will be warm. The Christmas tree up. And my Mom will insist on cooking me dinner and breakfast.
You can’t go home again, but you can get close and eat really well.
I’ll admit to having a little less of the Christmas spirit this year. There’s no need to re-hash why. But I’m looking forward to the holidays for some time off and quiet beside the tree. And, because I’ve not seen them yet, I need to make sure I watch Rudolph and Charlie Brown. My very observant sons bought me a collection of Charlie Brown videos a few years back. Rudolph I’ll have to search for. But he’s out there.
I’m not quite to the “Bah! Humbug!” stage of Christmas. Well, maybe with all of the commercialization and over spending.
I need Linus to remind me what it’s all about.
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