The Cellar - View Single Post

lookout123 · 12-13-2004, 05:12 PM

when i was 8 or 9 and my sister would have been 1 or 2, my family had hit some hard times (i didn't know how hard until much later) the factories in my home town had laid off just about everyone so there were no jobs to be had. my dad was working on a farm in exchange for meat and dairy products - no cash other than the limited unemployment $ he got. my mom was still recovering from her 2nd heart attack and couldn't do much. as christmas time rolled around and dad is trying to keep the heat on there isn't any $ for presents, so mom and dad sat us down and told us there wouldn't be much under the tree this year.

dad drove my mom to the dr's office one morning and took me next door for a doughnut while we waited. when we walked outside dad ran over to the car because he thought someone had broken the window out, but he was wrong. someone had filled the entire back of the station wagon with gifts for the whole family, no card, no explanation. when mom came out, she of course cried and carried on. when we got to the house, mom and dad decided that because these were all gifts from someone elses charity that we should each unwrap one present, then rewrap it and take it to another family that we knew who was also in bad shape. so we did.

a couple nights later we were sitting at home when there was a knock on the door. a family that we knew a little bit from church was there. they came in with what looked like a gigantic candle. they explained that every Christmas their family picked another family that they knew could use some help and for the next year they all put their change into this giant bank and then gave it to their chosen family the week before Christmas. they had picked our family before dad lost his job, while mom was in the hospital from one of her heart attacks. i don't know how much money was in there, but i found out years later that it was just enough to get us caught up on the gas & electric bill. i also know that is the only night i ever saw my father with tears in his eyes. my dad is a bit of an old school hardass who was taught to never show emotion so i'll never know whether those tears were from joy, embarrassment, thankfulness, or just plain old allergies, but i think they were caused by the kindness of others.

12-13-2004, 05:12 PM	#8
lookout123 changed his status to single Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Right behind you. No, the other side. Posts: 10,308	when i was 8 or 9 and my sister would have been 1 or 2, my family had hit some hard times (i didn't know how hard until much later) the factories in my home town had laid off just about everyone so there were no jobs to be had. my dad was working on a farm in exchange for meat and dairy products - no cash other than the limited unemployment $ he got. my mom was still recovering from her 2nd heart attack and couldn't do much. as christmas time rolled around and dad is trying to keep the heat on there isn't any $ for presents, so mom and dad sat us down and told us there wouldn't be much under the tree this year. dad drove my mom to the dr's office one morning and took me next door for a doughnut while we waited. when we walked outside dad ran over to the car because he thought someone had broken the window out, but he was wrong. someone had filled the entire back of the station wagon with gifts for the whole family, no card, no explanation. when mom came out, she of course cried and carried on. when we got to the house, mom and dad decided that because these were all gifts from someone elses charity that we should each unwrap one present, then rewrap it and take it to another family that we knew who was also in bad shape. so we did. a couple nights later we were sitting at home when there was a knock on the door. a family that we knew a little bit from church was there. they came in with what looked like a gigantic candle. they explained that every Christmas their family picked another family that they knew could use some help and for the next year they all put their change into this giant bank and then gave it to their chosen family the week before Christmas. they had picked our family before dad lost his job, while mom was in the hospital from one of her heart attacks. i don't know how much money was in there, but i found out years later that it was just enough to get us caught up on the gas & electric bill. i also know that is the only night i ever saw my father with tears in his eyes. my dad is a bit of an old school hardass who was taught to never show emotion so i'll never know whether those tears were from joy, embarrassment, thankfulness, or just plain old allergies, but i think they were caused by the kindness of others. __________________ Getting knocked down is no sin, it's not getting back up that's the sin Last edited by lookout123; 12-13-2004 at 05:15 PM.