The Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-12-21, Page 30Page 6A — Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, December 21, 1994
W
Over the river
and through
the woods,
we're sending
special holiday
wishes to your •
Thanks all.
Thanks to our
customers and friends
for your patronage.
We hope to serve you
for years to some.
Management
and Staff
HELM
WELDING LTD
529-7627
LUCKNOW 528-3203
RIPLEY 395-5167
DUNGANNON 529-7040
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)'1errsjt�sfmas
Enjoy theeauty and wonder of it all.
Ray and staff
`Ray Jr., Ron, Jim, Tom, Adam & Cindy
RAY ULCH WELDING
Dungannon 529-7647
Let Happiness
Grow, This
Christmas
Thanks for our very
pleasant association.
We hope you
enjoy the season!
Management and Staff
•
Hackett's Farm Equipment
LUCKNOW 529-7914
grandpa and. the kid
by Mike O'Neill
"Grampa, is there a Santa Claus?"
she asked.
"One of the great questions of
your young life, Sweetheart," carne
the reply. "What makes you ask?"
"Billy Fortune says he's just your
parents, putting those presents under
the tree and some old guys in red
suits saying 'Ho, ho, ho' and stuff
like that."
"Billy's only half right. Parents
do give their kids presents and
stores do hire people to dress up in
Santa outfits so parents will buy
more presents. But there's a lot
more to this than you can see at
first."
"They were walking hand in hand
down the sidewalk, after the small
town parade was over. Soon they
would join the line-up for visitation
time with Santa himself, although
the grandfather wasn't so sure it
would be as great for the kid as it
had been in previous years. It was
her kindergarten year, and he knew
she was growing up and away even
as they spoke.
"What do you mean'?" she asked.
"Liz, do you always know why,
or how something happens'? Like
why docs the sun come up in the
east, ndt the south-west? Or if you
flip a switch and a light. comes on?"
• "The sun doesn't move, Grampa,
the earth turns, like this,
she made a turning motion with
her hands "and electricity runs the
light:"
"Did I ever tell you that you
know a lot for a little kid'?" he
asked kindly. "But, have you ever
SEEN electricity? You've seen
what it can do, but not it itself.
What if this Santa thing . was
something like that?"
"Hmmm. Let me think about that
for awhile, `K?"
"Grampa said it was 'K' and they
chatted happily about the lights and
floats and wa'sn't Mommy neat as a
green elf and maybe Daddy could
bring Jimmy and the baby home on
the fire truck and did Mommy like
driving the tractor whcn . she was
my age. They entered the Legion
with the other people and lined up
to talk to Santa. .
"The little girl walked up to the
bearded man in thered suit and
said, "My Dad says I can only ask
for two presents, but I want about
thirty eleven so maybe I could ask
for the two biggest ones and you
could see what happens. What do
you think?"
"Well;" came a gentle reply.
"Thirty eleven IS a big number so
let's hear the two biggies and we'll
take it from there."
"You could give me a big truck,
I'd let Mom drive it all across
Canada, and a new barn so I c uld
let Dad and Grampa have more fun
putting hay in it."
"Those are really neat presets,
but Rudolph might bust a gu�set
trying to haul them don't you
think?"
"Bust a what?"
"A gusset. It's a medical to
I'm not sure what it, is either, ut
why don't you ask for some ing
YOU want?"
"Welll...Hmmm... how about a
computer? We see them all the
time at school. The teacher says
we'll have to know how to use one,
but she never said why."
"How do you feel about a doll, or
maybe a paint set? You can have
lots of fun with them can't yolr?"
"Yeah, are you REAL?"
"Sure, talk to your Grampa,
O.K.?"
Liz turned and walked to her
grandfather with a small frown on
her face. "He says he's real but I
just don't know."
Grampa lifted her into his arms
and hugged her tightly and carried
her outside amid carols and snow
and smiling faces.
• "You arc quite a kid," he said
warmly. "Why did you ask for
things for other people? You want
them to be happy, and that makes
you feel good, doesn't it'?"
"Sure, but I still don't know if
there's a Santa Claus. Let's find
Mommy and Daddy."
As they walked, they looked at
the window displays and waved to
people they knew, and had a vety
pleasant time. Hot chocolate was
free on the corner and they both
enjoyed a steaming drink served in
a paper cup. They walked amid the
crowd until they came to a Nativity
scene in a store window. Liz
looked at Mary and Joseph and
Baby Jersus, with shepherds and
angels, and sheep in the
background. Thoughtfully, she
turned to her girandfather and said,
"The wise men brought . Jesus
presents, didn't they?"
"Yes, indeed. Gold, frankincense,
and myrrh."
"What did they get for presents?"
"I'm not positive what THEY got,
but I know that when I give
someone I love a present and it
makes°'them happy, I get a really
neat feeling, a bit like the 'warm
fuzzies' you talk about. So maybe
they got warm fuzzies too."
"What does Santa have to do with
Jesus and Christmas and
everything?" Liz asked.
"I can only answer what I think
and I can't prove any of this,"
Grampa answered, "but here goes.
Jesus carne into our dimension and
let us see how He really is so we
could have a guide to how to
behave.. That is a big gift. He
showed us how to look after and
really care about other people, their
feelings, their dreams and
frustrations, the whole bit. He
shows us that giving is as much fun
as getting. You showed that by
wanting to give presents to your
family. Where do you think the
'wanting to give' comes from?"
"Jesus?"
"I think so: Santa might be
compared to the light bulb and
Jesus is the electricity we talked
about,earlier. I believe that people
find it easier to grasp a vague
concept if they, can label it. The
reason we feel so good at Christmas
is the spirit of giving is so strong
then, so we label it Santa Claus.
But 1 think it's Jesus that gave us
the spirit of giving in. the first
place. It's a pretty good gift, don't
you think?"
"That's pretty complicated for me,
I'm just a kid you know. But I DO
think Billy Fortune is missing a
lot."
"How come?"
"He doesn'.t have a grampa to talk
to like I .do! Then she saw her
parents and brothers, "There they
are! Let's GO!"
Checkout Christmas with
the Taylor family of Lucknow
"Frosty the Snowman was a jolly,
happy, soul.." I can't wait for
Christmas. It's my favorite time of
the year. Here are some traditions
my family and I enjoy.
Christmas morning is always fun
at our house because Grandma and
Grandpa are always waiting when
we get up. •
Another fun thing my family and
I do • is listen to Christmas carols
while we decorate our Christmas
Throughout this glorious
season, let us celebrate
the love Christ bestowed
on all of us.
Thank you to our
many customers and
friends.
From.
Ruth, Evelyn
& Staff
our jiratiourite tttxt�8
Lucknow 528-3016
tree.
Two years ago I got a 1000 piece
puzzle and every year, we work on
it.
The last tradition is watching my
favorite Christmas video called,
Christmas Vacation. It is really
funny.
There arc my traditions. I'd 'better
go now. Thumpity, thump, thump,
over, the hills of snow. Sarah
Taylor, LCPS.
YUII'IIE
ON SANTh'S
LIST
...And mus, tool We're
sending our best holiday
wishes for a season filled
with happiness and cheer,
along with our thoughts of
thanks for your very valued
business. Your friendship
means a lot,
DAWSON'S
Plumbing and Pumps
Dungannon
529-7981