Santa and Grandma

[Clifftall]

>
> I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was
>just a kid.
>
> I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day
>my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she
>jeered. "Even dummies know that!"
>
> My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her
>that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew
>Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went
>down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her
>"world-famous"cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because
>Grandma said so. It had to be true.
>
>Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I
>told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she
>snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going
>around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your
>coat, and let's go."
>
>"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second
>world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General
>Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about
>everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten
>dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she
>said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for
>you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.
>
>I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my
>mother,but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store
>seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their
>Christmas shopping.
>
>For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that
>ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it
>for.
>
>I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors,
>the kids at school, the people who went to my church.
>
>I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby
>Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right
>behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have
>a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the
>winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he
>had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a
>cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with
>growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!
> I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked
>real warm, and he would like that.
>
> "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the
>counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I
>replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."
>
>The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really
>needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the
>coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.
>
>That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out
>ofthe coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper
>and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.
> Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove
>me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now
>and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.
>
> Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I
>crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then
>Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered,
>"get going."
>
>I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present
>down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the
>bushes and Grandma.
>
>Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to
>open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.
>
>Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent
>shivering,beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I
>realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what
>Grandma said they were -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well,
>and we were on his team.
>
>I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.
>
>
>May you always have LOVE to share,
> HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care...
>
>And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

[haulinhazmat]

Thanks, I needed that.
Semper Fi

[henryn]

You just made my day As long as there are good deeds,there will always be a Santa. Merry Christmas

[slickest1]

Nice story Thanks!

[historyljc]

Great story!!!