a christmas story!

i love christmas.  i heart it.  it’s the most awesomest holiday EVER.  motherfuckin’ *santa* is comin’!  yippee!!

so, mah tree is up…

my fireplace is ~lit~...

(chestnuts roasting on a ... bunchacandles…)

and i’m busy busy busy gettin’ everything else ready.  have i mentioned i really love christmas?

while roaming the internets, i came across this article the other day (a 2008 series of interviews with mall santas):

“I don’t hear kids wanting Wii’s or Barbies. They want Daddy to come back, they want socks and shoes,” he tells me adjusting his red hat, taking in the cool breeze from the fan pointing directly at him.

it caught my eye, because i used to work at the toy store in that mall, many many many….many.  moons ago. 

the last year i was there, we’d a little boy, maybe 4 or 5 years old, who used to hang around all day by himself.  his mother worked at the walgreen’s *diner* (yes, they used to have a diner!) and she couldn’t afford daycare.  since he pretty much had the run of the mall, he made friends with those of us at all his regular stops, but the toy store was ~obviously~ his favorite place.  i had a brother close in age and, feeling sorry for this little boy with nothing to do all day but roam the mall, i pretty much adopted him as my “little helper”.

his mother and i would wave at one another, though i don’t think we ever spoke.  she only knew me as ~the toy store girl~.  the other employees, even the store manager, would “find” open toy packages and leave them for me to give him.  he’d draw and color pictures for me, “help” me stock toys, play store security (“miss, i think that boy has a tonka truck under his shirt” - like i’d not noticed), and just generally became a fixture in our store.  i’d come into work and they’d tell me, “your little friend was here looking for you”. 

daily, he’d follow me around, babbling non-stop.  repeatedly, he’d tell me that all he wanted was for his dad to come back home.  his dad had gone to “this place called cadifurnia” looking for a job and his mom and he had no furniture in their tiny apt.  he hoped to someday have a real bed.  absolutely broke my heart.

then one day, just days before christmas, i came into work and there stood the little boy… WITH BOTH HIS PARENTS!  his father had come home - bringing a bed, new clothes, and a whole heap load of happiness for one little boy.  his parents had brought me a gift (perfume and a tray) as a thank you (i told them it wasn’t necessary, he was a delight to have hanging around) and begged me to take a picture on santa’s lap with their son (which i did. poor santa.).

every christmas, i remember that lil boy and wonder where he’s gotten to and how well he fared in life.

koorosh, wherever you might be, i hope the happiness you felt that christmas has stayed with you always.

and may ~all of you~ have as wonderful a christmas, as well.

i’ll leave you with this, my favoritest christmas song EVER:

maurice chevalier - jolly old st nicholas

Blogged, Life, Personal, Memories, Comments (1)
Tagged as: memories,christmas December 10, 2009 @ 07:29 am

what i’ve been doing: tmc’s blue santa video

Ronald McDonald House - Houston provides a “home away from home” to families of children undergoing treatment for serious illnesses in the Texas Medical Center.

The Texas Medical Center Police and Security Services, recognizing the difficulties and unique struggles for families spending a holiday miles from home, solicits donations, purchases toys, and delivers them each year to the residents of Ronald McDonald House.

i was asked to create a video for their “blue santa” program (“blue santa” is what police dept’s call their christmas charities).  once i saw the photos, no other song but “jolly old st nicholas” would suffice!  it happens to be my favorite christmas song.  sasha @ http://www.hypnobird.com was gracious enough to allow me to use her artwork and create mini-animations from it, so a HUGE thank you to her!

pictures of the ronald mcdonald house in houston:

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Tagged as: texas,videos,christmas,houston,charity March 30, 2009 @ 03:38 pm

stories that make you go… O.O

sometimes, the only reaction you can have to the news is… 

Fla. woman claims ‘Merry Christmas’ got her fired:

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A Christian woman claims she was fired from her job because she greeted callers with “Merry Christmas,” but the vacation rental company says it’s no Scrooge and the woman is just a disgruntled employee.

Tonia Thomas, 35, said she refused to say “Happy Holidays” and was fired, even after offering to use the company’s non-holiday greeting. The Panama City woman filed a federal complaint that accuses the company of religious discrimination. She is seeking compensation for lost wages.

“I hold my core Christian values to a high standard and I absolutely refuse to give in on the basis of values. All I wanted was to be able to say ‘Merry Christmas’ or to acknowledge no holidays,” she said Tuesday. “As a Christian, I don’t recognize any other holidays.”

Thomas said she is Baptist.

exactly what christian “values” require the use of the words “merry christmas”, rather than “happy holidays”?  “have a merry christmas and a happy new year” is ok, but “happy holidays” is not?  is her god REALLY that shallow?

“as a christian, i don’t recognize any other holidays.”  well, guess what, ms. thomas, regardless of whether you “recognize” them or not, they exist.  they don’t cease to exist by sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling “lalala, i can’t hear you”.  acknowledging reality doesn’t require that you participate in those holidays.

but guess what?  there’s a whole “12 days of christmas”, which apparently some “christians” idiots have forgotten.  it’s more than just a song!  the 12 days count from december 25th clear on through january 6th, the epiphany, which is a ~christian~ holiday, so even if lil ms. thomas’ god is really that shallow, even he should be happy that people would recognize the entire season of holidays.

so can we all get over this “war on christmas” bullshit already?  happy fucking holidays >:|

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Blogged, Current Events, Politics, election2008, Comments (2)
Tagged as: holidays,religion,politics,racism,news,elections2008,christmas,democrats January 03, 2009 @ 04:30 am

now that christmas is over with…

here’s most of what i was madly crocheting… still have a couple of other projects to finish up, but this was the majority of them:

oh, and my camera batteries were dying, so colours may be off a tad and ... well, blurry christmas to you!

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Blogged, Just for Fun, arts&crafts, Comments (5)
Tagged as: holidays,crochet,crafts,hobbies,christmas December 28, 2008 @ 08:05 pm