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The Rural Voice, 1977-12, Page 28think. was thrown at friends and enemies during the next couple of hours than was consumed. What a waste really of the efforts of a lot of people to bring pleasure with candy that wasn't eaten and a movie that nobody could hear anyway for all the screaming going on. Christmas. in the long run. though came down to a• simple event held among the family. with all the hoopla forgotten. By Christmas eve the excitement was unbearable. We wanted to go to bed early so morning would come faster but at the same time wanted to stay awake and listen for the mysterious visit. Sleep. of course. always came before Santa did. I remember more than once though. waking up about two or three o'clock in the morning and sneaking down the cold wooden stairs to see if the great man had come. My parents always left the tree lights on on Christmas Eve so Santa could find his way around. There in the glow of the red and green and yellow bulbs were the marvellous presents. It was satisfying to know they were there, especially if it was just what was ordered (ah...asked for), but it made it all the harder to go back to bed and leave the toys unplayed with. Christmas morning, you see, couldn't begin around our house until a decent hour of say at least six a.m. Then we thundered down the stairs to see the wonders. There was a tradition in our family that only the Santa Claus presents were opened in the morning. that the presents from the rest of the family were left until after the big turkey dinner which was served at lunch. It worked out well in the early years because we'd be so busy playing with our toys that we didn't care about the other presents (although we were not above shaking them to try to guess what was in them). We were not rich. in our home, in fact by today's standards we were far below the poverty line, yet when we were young we didn't notice it. We didn't notice because all of our neighbours were more or less in the same boat. The adults. I suspect, having lived through the depression and the war years, were thankful for what they had. not despondent over what they lacked. As children. our world was small and all we cared about was what the other kids in the neighbourhood had. Yet despite the lack of money. I remember few times when I didn't get just what 1 wanted from Santa Claus. Probably this was due to the rather inconspicuous way that mother guided my selection to items that were well within Santa's capability to deliver. Other parents weren't so lucky or so skillful 1 guess because I can remember friends who were always disappointed in not getting what they wanted on Christmas morning. When I look at the expensive toys that are pushed down my own children's throats with a constant diet of television brainwashing from about July on. 1 marvel at how much fun we got out of such inexpensive and simple things. I remember the thrill 1 got one Christmas out of a toy tool set that must have cost only a couple of dollars. Another year it was a truck full of farm animals. And then there was the year 1 got a wind-up caterpillar tractor that would climb over obstacles put in its path. I didn't get to play with it much the first day 1 remember as my father, uncle and a visitor spent most of Christmas day on the livingroom rug piling books up for the tractor to climb. If one of the presents was a sleigh or toboggan. we'd spend a good deal of the time outside on the hills until we were so chilled we could hardly make it back to the house. Money may have been short. but I can never remember any scimping when it came to Christmas dinner. The meal was usually centred around a turkey. though l remember one year when a neighbour's goose was the centrepiece. It was the kind of meal that made you first think your plate was too small. then think your eyes were too big. It was the best meal of the year. not only because of the excellence and quantity of the f. od. but because of the wonderful warm feeling that passed among everyone seated at the table. Somehow even the normal childish poor table manners that usually brought a scolding vent unnoticed on this day. Toward the end of the meal there was, and still is. a friendly kind of game played between the generations. The children impatiently wanted to get the meal out of the way and get to the presents gulped down the last of their Christmas pudding and s� o� 6/0 FEATURES Extra heavy augers and shafts; Special auger sprockets prevent chain icing; Tapered roller bearings on fan shaft; Sealed 1-7/16 bearings on auger shafts; Heavy duty gearbox with heat treated shafts; Fans & augers protected by shear pins; Heavy duty P.T.O. with needle bearings. OPTIONAL Hyrdaulic hood control utilizes remote 8" stoke cyclinder to turn the chute a full 180° MANUFACTURED BY Helm Welding Limited McGAVI N'S FARM EQUIPMENT Sales and Service Walton, Ont. NOK 1ZO 527-0245 Seaforth Established 1936 887-6365 Brussels We specialize in a complete line of farm equipment. THE RURAL VOICE/DECEMBER 1977,PG.27.