Christmas-read Invitation:
Christmas Always---book of holiday poems
or
Christmas Treasures---three holiday eves with
a traditional Christian family celebration
visit: Amazon books search: Carl Schuler
contact info:
trinitytrace.blogspot.com
Day 14
Ice skating at
Frishcorn’s
All
my life, we created our own “fun”. Ah! The “simple” things are, indeed, best!
My
dad was an outdoorsman with a flair for the dramatic and an appreciation of
nature.
We
hunted and fished (and, gardened); he was a conservationist; I learned a lot
from him.
He
belonged to two fishing clubs: Fox Lake which boasted a membership of
twenty-six, and Frishcorn’s which he rented for our family’s private use from a
farmer who owned the property.
Fox
Lake had three lakes on it, a five acre body of water, a two acre pond and a
three quarter acre fishing hole; Frishcorn’s offered two small ponds, about a
half-acre, each. Either place provided a kid like me with unending exploring
and discovery adventures. Each had a clubhouse and Frishcorn’s offered us a
woods for squirrel and rabbit hunting opportunities. Fox Lake sported several
fishing boats made of cypress wood, quiet on the water, but “ungodly” heavy; we
kept a small aluminum rowboat at the Frishcorn property.
One
of the best uses and most enjoyable treats for Frishcorn’s experiences was ice
skating on the pond in wintertime. The surface froze quickly as the area was
somewhat small and the depth of the water only reached five or six feet; each
of these facts facilitated a four-inch safe ice shelf.
I
learned to ice skate on the pond at my grandparents’ farm, another of my
favorite haunts.
We
spent many a day and night blading the slick surface; Candy and I utilized the
grounds when we were dating and the extended family often joined in the fun;
when daughter Beth came along, she cut her teeth on skating on the pond. We
also employed a snow sled which the little kids would straddle while an adult
pulled them on a wild ride across the glittering ice sheen.
In
summer, we enjoyed many a bar-b-que! That was a fact of the fabulous Fox Lake
tradition, also. Seems there was always fried chicken with all the fixin’s or
steaks for the grille of picnics.
I
confess, I have dearly enjoyed a spectacular life. I may be un-deserving, but I
enjoyed it!
Ah!
The “simple” things of life! Yes! Amen! To that!
I
“Thank” my family for exposing me to some very fine traditions; each a very
special:
Cookie
Jar Sweet Memory!
Christmas Alive
Absent benefit shelter the
wretched old woman did live
By wit, guile and a keen eye, her
very best she did give
Serendipity struck as she
searched on a cold bleak day
Found a discarded billfold
stuffed with green money-pay
Blessed-“Good Luck!” Safely
secreted in her old canvas bag
None paid attention to such an
outcast and useless old hag
Unkempt and unclean, surviving on
crusts of stale-hard bread
Ragged clothes did she don with a
colored scarf on her head
An acquaintance grimy beggar who
had once done her wrong
Spied the hidden treasure for
which he most assuredly longed
“Could I have your wallet?” He
quite brazenly asked
Without hesitation she handed it
over, quite unabashed
The next day being Christmas, the
vagabond sought her out
Gave back the money, frowning
eyes showed her pure doubt
“There’s something more valuable
from you I should need;
That goodness within you to share
without hinted greed”
Majestic Mountain Commandments
foretold
Emulate Jesus! Dare live “true”
quite so bold!
One snowy Colorado day, I gave a
vagrant all the loose change that I had
Christmas Joy warmed me as a
“Thank you!”-smile creased his face sad
“’Tis better give than receive,”
sagacious senior folks say
’Tis true! Make it just a fun
game that indulge---start today
Amen!
Merry Christmas!
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