The Magical Christmas of 1969
My first Christmas being married and oh talk about poor.
I was laid off from the plant in February after being
married in January and could not find a job for six months.
When I found my next job, it paid less than one half of what
I was making and to top matters off, we had to move to take
the job.
The job, a local pizza place, did moderately well, just well
enough to pay my bills, but nothing else. We were looking
towards a grim Christmas with no tree, and maybe one present
each. My co-workers were just kids, but we got along well as
I was just a 23 years old myself. They understood my and my
wife’s plight for the holidays. Christmas evening, the 24th,
we just finished a modest supper when we heard, ka-thump,
ka-thump, ka-thump. We lived in a second story apt in an
older home and the noise got louder, ka-thump, ka-thump,
ka-thump. A knock at the door, I opened it and there stood
my young co-workers with a tree. They had chopped the tree
down and dragged it to my house and each person had
‘borrowed’ some ornaments from their family tree.
My wife and I were deeply moved. The chatter of the kids
made the house warm, my wife fixed popcorn for all as we
decorated the tree. Looking back on my 57 Christmases, only
a few stand out, this was one. The Spirit of Christmas was
in my home that night. Angels were in my home disguised as
teenagers. The Spirit of giving overcame any material greed
that night. Merry Christmas my friends, merry Christmas.
BJ Cassady
BJ.Cassady@af-group.com
Guthrie, Oklahoma