December 17, 2009

Now: Duct tape is good for a myriad of uses. That is a well known fact. My family can attest to this also but I wish they would forget at least one Duct tape failure. :-) I digress. Today I stopped to buy gasoline and there was very old (1985 era) red Toyota at the pump next to me. As I looked at the car I imagined how the engineers and designers at Toyota would cringe if they could only see what had happened to their efforts to put a hot looking, red sports car on the new car show floor. This car did not have a single surface without damage, rust or Bondo on it. It had broken glass and the drivers door would not open. I turned as not to stare while the young man added oil to the engine. Suddenly, I heard the familiar “rip” of Duct tape being removed from the roll. I looked back to see the youth securing his hood in the closed position with… you guessed it, Duct tape! Not just a little bit but yards and yards of it. I could only wonder, as he drove into the darkness, if this was a recommended use for this product.

Then: My first Christmas memory was December of 1957. We lived in a tiny white rental house on Lincoln Street. This was only a few blocks from Saint Vincents Hospital where I graced Monett with my presence in 1953. I was so excited to go to bed on Christmas Eve because I could see the Christmas tree from my bed. I had announced at dinner I was going to stay awake and watch Santa visit our house. There was no chimney for Santa to come down but I was sure he would get in somehow. Finally bedtime came and every few minutes my mother would say “Are you asleep yet?”. I would answer with indignation in my voice “No. I am waiting for Santa!”. Unfortunately, then as now, if I lay my head down I am asleep. I awoke in the morning and was very disappointed to find I had fallen asleep and missed the jolly fat man but that disappointment was short lived when I saw the presents under the tree.