Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Christmas Always & Christmas Treasure (excerpt)

Christmas Eternal
 
 
Yonder midnight velvet pierced by gleaming white-bright star
Comes salvation, rustic stable manger, kingdom not afar
 
Softly fallen glow reflects on humble newborn baby's face
Receive His heavenly blessing, accept our Holy Spirit's grace
 
Little girls dream magic life where enchanted princess dance
Boy sails emerald crested Irish Sea to beckon sweet romance
 
There be I just southward of high sun at noon
Slight distant shadow westward of alabaster pale full moon
 
Could only I in small measure save one innocent loving tender child
Would I then shelter fearsome storm to proclaim dark day quite mild
 
His word! His deed1! Example guide for Christian life invited sanction
AWhat can I do? Hollow offer be, without perform thou sacred action
 
He has already loved me more than His own human life
Undeserving respite from defeated rampant savage strife
 
But rather joy as I with purpose announce exotic other
Loving family circle embrace this Infant, Father, Holy Mother
 
Pristine snow shall melt then fade, destiny fulfilled when it did start
Survive eternal truth and love through Jesus' own sweet precious heart
 
Innkeeper to rough lodging sent holy Savior he did not know
Sees you Christ as judgment waits - Is it He whom you do show?
 
AWhy can't everyday be like Christmas? Queried crooner gospel king
Oh! But it is for each who makes it so. I pray, you hear His angels sing
 
Merry Christmas!

 
Silver Crystal Palace
(a Christmas play-2010)
 
Mountains of paper and gifts galore
No room left to walk on this here floor
 
This Christmas again, one of the best
With you all here as our house guest
 
Pay attention now as our children speak
Hints to what’s coming will give you a peek
 
(Z.T.)-Bapa, I heard a real neat story
About a wonderful Magic Christmas tree
 
(L.V.)-If it’s true I have a wish to make
That everyone gets their gift to take
 
(A.E.)-Oh! I sure believe in all things good
Come miracles such that could and should
 
(A.M.)-Of course! There’s a fantasy like that
At Bapa’s and Nanny’s is where it’s at
 
(Bapa)-Now, children, let’s not get carried away
But, I believe in magic, what can I say?
 
(all)-We better check, just for some fun
It’s not over, we’ve hardly begun
 
Today there is magic to be found
One more gift must be around
 
Then, they all search the magical Christmas tree
(all)-Look! Now what could this here be?
 
(all)-Santa might give her a silver crystal palace
(Pause)-Or better yet, a golden Christian chalice
 
Merry Christmas!
 
Hail! Mary!
 
 
Hail! Mary! Full of grace, the Lord is with thee
 
Heaven angel to virgin maiden spoke enigma word quite bold
Celestial Son’s birth for sinful man’s redemption, he foretold
 
Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus
 
Announcement caused His cousin John in the womb to leap
Un-truth purveyors shall forever the evil whirlwind reap
 
Holy Mary! Dear mother of God, please pray for us sinners
 
Add not nor deny My Truth, I am the Light
Holy Word, My Way to salvation in clear sight
 
Now and at the hour of our death
 
Communion saints with heavenly angels pray
Revere innocents’ life, reflect on Christmas Day
 
And, thanks for His miracle of the rosary
 
Three in One, a dozen true disciple men
Love each other, your brother also is My kin
 
For He so loved the world He sent His only Son
Offer heartfelt humble prayer, His holy day be won
 
Amen!
 
Merry Christmas!
 
Pray the rosary! Amen!
 
Plus:
 
 
 
5   “Re-pract-hersing”?
 
 
     Grudgingly relaxing his arms which held her waist, he added, “I best get Desperado tacked up and fit that old pannier to him. He’s going to have to truck all those supplies up the mountain.”
     Nanny brushed his cheek with the back of her hand; then he patted each of the girls on the head and with that, and again donning his winter garb, he exited the comfortable confines of the warm house to brave the frigid weather and once more headed for the barn. The lean-to at the front of the wood building which the girls had insisted he construct for their Christmas Eve pageant presentation of the Nativity story was just one more reminder of his proclivity to give his girls whatever they wanted. Over the next hour, he busied himself with preparations for the trip.
     In the barn, Bapa rubbed down the horses, picked and checked their hooves for soundness. Satisfied that all was well with the animals, he led each to the lake where he had chopped holes in the ice and let them drink their fill. Completing that task he turned to the pannier, checking its repair before heavy use. One of the wooden dowels had come loose and he employed a length of baling wire to correct the problem. His father had made the carrier and it had served many years.
     The tack he found in good shape. Headstalls were clean and lightly oiled, hung neatly on pegs attached to the bridle rack. Bits were clean and shiny, no burrs or rust; curb straps were sturdy. The saddles, several well-worn, a few ridden enough to be comfortably broken in, two brand new, all showed care and held a light sheen of Neat’s-foot oil. The three youth saddles showed ample wear but were still of good utility. His girls and grandchildren had each learned to ride in those leather miniatures. The cold air in the tack room reeked pleasantly of pungent leather, the aroma evoking myriad memories as pleasing to his senses as the flowery fragrance of a bouquet of fresh-cut mountain wild flowers to a winsome beauty from her beau. Ah! Ambrosia!
     Around nine, he shuttled the supplies for Ole Sam from the pickup truck parked in the barn bay to the tack area where he had tethered Desperado with a stout halter and heavy lead rope which he would employ to pony the pack horse up the mountain. The pannier was fitted to the gelding, then, Bapa began to carefully load the goods onto the wooden cradle, securing each item with a rawhide thong. He balanced the weight of the horse’s heavy burden from side to side making sure the thick saddle pad protected the animal’s back and sides. As he lashed the last of the items and went to retrieve a canvass tarpaulin fitted with grommets to accommodate tying a rope through, to secure the covering, he heard a vehicle in the lot; looking at his pocket watch he saw that it was precisely ten-thirty. Smiling, he thought to himself, “That will be my Z. Tyler.”
Not surprising that the boy would be on time; he was always precise; another sign of character.
     Opening the barn door which faced the parking area adjacent to the house, Bapa waved to his grandson who was opening the passenger door for Mary Theresa; the old man had not known that she would come with Z. Tyler. He was very glad to see her; she was due to deliver any time.
     “Hello!” he called in greeting from the barn. “I’ll be in directly.”
     Z. Tyler waved acknowledgement as he and his bride headed to the warmth of the house.
     In the barn, Bapa saddled Magic, whom he would ride, and the bay gelding, Applejack, for Z. Tyler. Magic’s spring foal had been weaned and had joined the horses as just another herd member. The filly was coal black but could, and most likely would, change color several times in her first few years. The yearling was beautiful and Magic had promise to be a good brood mare.
     Once tacked up, Bapa tethered the three horses to the manger with strong braided lead ropes of a heavy sisal fiber, pliable like cotton, but stronger; the bridles for the trail he would fit just before they left. Cinching the riding saddles only snug enough to hold them securely in place, for now, he would tighten the leather straps just before leaving on their trek, after leading the horses a hundred feet or so, allowing the animals to exhale their breath which aided in making fast the cinch. A horse will inhale deeply and exhale after the girth is tightened, causing the saddle to slip; something a beginner horseman would not know; Bapa, though, was no novice.
     He shook a two inch thick flake of alfalfa hay to remove the tiny, tender, dried leaves of the plant which he wrapped in a cotton sack and then placed the package in his leather saddle bags. This, along with a pound of shelled corn kernels and half that amount of rolled whole oats, he also put in the bags for use at Ole Sam’s cabin to feed the horses after they arrived. He would let them drink at the spring pond before they began their return trip. For now, Bapa laid the rough stems, left from his shaking of the hay, in a pile in front of each animal before he left for the house. With only halters, the horses could eat unencumbered; they munched contentedly.
     Coming in the back door, Bapa removed his heavy outer winter garb and then his boots.
     Near the fireplace sat Mary Theresa in Bapa’s comfortable rocking chair, glowing radiantly in the warmth of a crackling blaze; Z. Tyler sat on the stone hearth, lovingly holding her hand, looking like a love sick calf while exuding the pride of a prize bull. Bapa smiled at the sight.
     Nanny and the three girls crowded close around the couple, all smiling brightly with a look of expectant wonder in their demeanor.
     “Looks like a meeting of the Christmas Club anticipating all the food, gifts and festivities of the big holiday,” Bapa said as he entered from the kitchen.
     Z. Tyler rose and shook his grandfather’s extended hand, then bear hugged him in greeting.
     “Good to see you, Bapa,” he intoned. The old man nodded.
     He took Mary Theresa’s slim hand in his own, covering it with his free one; she smiled.
     “Glad to see that you made the trip, Miss Mary Theresa,” he stated. “I am very happy to see you. You look absolutely radiant, young lady.” He paused. Then, “Is it the heat from this warm fire that set your cheeks aglow, or is there something else to cause such happiness?” He teased.
     “Bapa,” Z. Tyler seemed compelled to interject for his bride, “the doctor says she may deliver on Christmas Day!” His dazzling white-teeth smile was the exclamation point to his excitement.
     Continuing, he added, “Mary Theresa came along since her mother and dad are away for the holiday. With Nanny and the girls to watch over her, we knew she’d be in good hands.”
     “Oh!” squealed excited Lexi, “you can just bet on that.” Rye-Rye hugged his sister close.
     “We’ll take extra special care of her,” promised blonde-headed Annie Rie.
     “Yeah!” smiled Lauren, “We sure will watch her good.”
     Mary Theresa smiled and opened her arms wide; all three ran to her for hugs.
     “Take it easy, girls,” Nanny admonished, “we can wait ’til Christmas for the baby.”
     Bapa put his arm around his wife. “What a special Christmas that would be.”
     “Oh! Yea!” came the girls reply in unison.
     “Just in time for our surprise Christmas play,” said Anna Marie, excitedly.
     “What play is that?” queried Mary Theresa.
     “Well,” Lauren explained, “we asked Bapa to build a lean-to in front of the barn with a small stage so we could do the Christmas story Nativity scene to celebrate Christmas Eve.”
     “Yeah! Yeah!” interrupted Anna Marie, employing the double affirmative when excitedly making a point. “He built it and we’ve been practicing.”
     “I think you mean, ‘rehearsing’,” came Nanny’s polite correction.
     “Huh?” Annie seemed confused. “Re-pract-hersing?” she half stuttered.
     “Rehearsing,” Nanny repeated. “It means, practicing, Sweetheart.”
     “Oh!” the child concluded, slightly shaking her head, silently mouthing the new word.
     “And,” picked up Mary Theresa, questioningly, beginning to understand, “just how does the baby fit into this picture?” She quickly added, “I think, maybe, I should be afraid to ask.”
     Lexi either did not catch the intended entendre or simply chose to ignore the implied warning.
     “Oh!” she replied quite innocently, “the manger is very warm and comfortable.”
     The adults laughed; the little girls looked at one another inquisitively.
     “I think,” began Nanny, trying to quell any impending storm which might be brewing, “that this newborn might not be just the baby we want to put in the manger for your play.”
     “But, Nanny,” pleaded Lexi, “Jesus was a newborn baby.”
     “Might be just a little cold out there for our new son,” Rye-Rye said, smiling, but stern.
     Bapa was proud of the young man for stepping up to protect Mary Theresa and his, as yet, unborn child.  The young man handled it with adept finesse.
     “Indeed!” Bapa said, “If that blizzard comes that I am expecting, it will be plenty frigid by Christmas Eve. No place on that exposed stage for a baby.” He shivered with meaning.
     “You smell snow, Bapa?” Z. Tyler questioned, seizing an opportunity to change the subject.
     “Um! Hm!” he replied. “Wind will pick up by mid-afternoon to come out of the northwest. I expect that the snow will start by dark and continue all night. I think we’re in for a big one.”
     “Yea!” From the threesome came exuberant affirmation of the promised snowfall.
     Nanny said, “If that storm is coming as furious as you forecast, I best feed you two so you can be on your way.” In her delicate way of never trying to influence her husband’s judgment, but wanting some reassurance, none-the-less, she added, “You do think you’ll beat the blizzard?”
     “Of, course! Nanny.” Bapa said, “We’ll deliver Ole Sam’s supplies and be safely back down the mountain in plenty of time for supper. Nothing to worry about.”
     Nanny smiled but a hint of doubt shadowed her pretty face; Bapa noticed.
     “Anyway,” he began, hugging her waist, “you don’t believe for one minute that our Rye-Rye would stay away from Mary Theresa any longer than is absolutely necessary. Do you, Nanny?”
     She smiled at that reassurance; she had full faith and trust in Bapa.
     They ate a Spartan early noontime lunch, not wanting to overdo, prior to the long ride; each of the men, however, did drink his fill of Nanny’s hot fruit tea to steel them against the frigid temperature. They each took a thermos of the hot brew and several sandwiches, just in case.
     After completing the meal, they took their leave of the womenfolk with hugs and kisses all around. Z. Tyler seemed most reluctant to abandon his expectant wife and kissed her three times to the girls giggled “Ooh’s” and “Aah’s”. At last, he relented as he and Bapa dressed and headed for the door. Goldie, who had been lying by the fire with Ella, came charging into the kitchen.
     “No, no! Boy,” Bapa reprimanded. “You have to stay home this trip.”
     The Golden Retriever held his head sideways, as if to beg for a reprieve.
     “Best keep him in until dark,” he addressed Nanny. “Or, you can put him in the kennel after a while; he’ll bed down next to the sheep pen for warmth. I’ll let him out when we get back.”
     He patted the dog on the head and Nanny nodded her understanding.
     They led the horses from the barn, walked them to cause the animals to exhale their air, then carefully tightened the girths and rechecked the packed pannier on Desperado. At last, satisfied with the tack and supplies, the men mounted up and headed northwest along the pasture fence line toward the mountain and their rendezvous with the Leprechaun-man, Ole Sam.
     The little girls, Mary Theresa, Nanny and Goldie watched from the window; the women waved. Z. Tyler and Bapa returned the good-bye waves and soon disappeared in a copse of cedar and pine evergreen trees at the far end of the valley. When Goldie whined as they faded into the distance, Nanny touched her stomach as though the dog’s lament was a bad omen, a harbinger of trouble. She mentally reprimanded herself, concluding that she was just being silly. Still?
     “Something wrong, Nanny?”Queried Lauren, noticing the pained look.
     “No, darling. Of, course, not. I guess I’m just sad to see them go. That’s all.”
     The women busied themselves with cleaning up the dishes. Nanny and the girls baked several fruit pies in preparation of the upcoming festivities as Mary Theresa retired to the bedroom for a nap and Goldie lay by the kitchen door as if awaiting his master’s return. Eventually, he went to keep the sleeping Ella company; since the flop-eared beagle ignored his presence, Goldie chose to recline in Bapa’s padded rocking chair, rather than lying on the hard floor.

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