The Squirrel And The Farmer by Matt Kornatz - [1 words]
The Rain by Julia Sky A story about a poverished young girl who chases her ultimate dream. [1,569 words]
Red Line-911 by David Aldridge - [1 words]
25th Mile by Firsttime Story Earthquake devastates California, Leaving Thousands dead, hungry, homeless and without hope. With the... [23,199 words]
Who Is The Hero? by Gregory J Christiano Schoolyard bullies have always intimidated their classmates. But what if a boy refuses to fig... [1,534 words]
White Thoughts by Natasha White Thoughts is a first person narrative detailing the life of a senior college student, unsur... [15,197 words]
Vicki's Comeback by Steven L Howard From the cutting edge of the knife to the cutting edge of success - her comeback was real this... [2,863 words]
The Threats Against Edward Solomon High by Bradley Grimes An unusual day at a high school. [4,313 words]
The Conversation by Seth Allen Judge not, lest you be judged... [2,089 words]
Simply Black Or White by Gerald L Bosacker A short piece. [1,211 words]
Shooting In Iraq by E Rocco Caldwell - [466 words]
Pastoral by Oscar Felix Norton Read the story. [6,194 words]
Off The Top Shelf by Buxton About a dream I had that let me see what kind of future we all face... [967 words]
My Last Night With Her by Rae A quick story. [448 words]
Lost In A Forest Of Cornstalks by Steph G A story about three young siblings who have an adventure in a nearby cornfield. [1,427 words]
Lenny's Last Jump! by Gregory J Christiano Two gangsters out for a night’s work, but they’re in for a surprise! [880 words]
I Met Him For The Last Time by Avis Narrative monologue. I think the title speaks for itself. [1,096 words]
General Inspection (Novel To Be) by Josh Anderson The beginnings of a murder mystery / psychological thriller / horror short sto... [1,670 words]
From The Outside Looking In by Kris Lemmonds Sometimes we search for things that are right in front of us. If we just stopped l... [1,495 words]
For What I'd Give by Josh Anderson This is the 6th and possibly final part to Serra's swamp, Axey finally begins to realize the ... [1,078 words]
Family Dinner. by Bradley Grimes A family's final meal together. [2,023 words]
Eurasia Underground V5 - A Future So Close (Narrative Proposition) by Josh Anderson Pilot chapter for a series of stories, game ... [676 words]
Dave by Abby M Lesczynski Character Sketch about my father. [1,432 words]
Careful What You Ask For... by Kris Lemmonds What do you do when the one thing you thought would make you happy doesn't? [1,716 words]
Card Sharps by Gregory J Christiano The poker game grew heated. The cheated card player lay dead on the floor! [1,309 words]
Butterflies by Kris Lemmonds A story of a first date. Complete with nerves and othe craziness. [3,069 words]
At Death's Door by Nur Syafiqah A Jaaffar - [441 words]
Anger, Depression, Bargaining, Denial, Acceptance. by Bradley Grimes The thoughts of Joseph Richard Patterson on November 13th, 2... [753 words]
A Warped Mind by Surge Some insight into a tortured mind. [325 words]
A Single Place Setting by Kris Lemmonds Sometimes someone comes along in our lives to impact us like no other can - for better o... [2,530 words]
A Shooting In Iraq---Part Two by E Rocco Caldwell The special opts his ranger squad conducted was illegal and may have resulted in ... [400 words]
The Piece Of His Heart Left Behind by Steven L Howard Through many years he had learned to hate this man. Now came a simple plea -... [2,237 words]
Ze Zen Ta (The Way Of The Thinking Fist) by E Rocco Caldwell First part of a potential novel. [692 words]
Waking Up To Light by Jessica M Brown A naďve and apathetic young man is in a coma. He believes he is dreaming. When he thinks h... [650 words]
Us And The Monkeys by Afreena Rahman A walk through a busy street in madras provides some critical insight on life... [1,456 words]
Too Hard A Promise by Steven L Howard He had never lied to his beloved, But can he promise what she asked? [1,658 words]
The July Tree by Brotherman A tale about stolen innocence. Based on an initiation I saw when I was 13. [2,126 words]
The Abduction Of Sammy Lee by Mark A Stuart Tale of a kidnapping in a small SouthWest Georgia town. [6,320 words]
Star Lights by Patricia Waldrop A short story about a small southern town who learned the lesson of drunk driving. [1,747 words]
Slow Down by Jack M Brown Peter's world speeds up inexplicably while his doctor tries to figure out what's wrong, watching him ... [1,472 words]
She Dances Down By The River by Susan Brassfield Cogan Danger in the firelight. [453 words]
Shattered Reflection by Josh Anderson The second part of Serra's Swamp, she had run away again. [1,051 words]
Serra's Swamp by Josh Anderson AxeY's foridden love. The first in a series I hope to release slowly, I would really appreciate a... [1,131 words]
Red Flannels by Higgins The moons were shining. [383 words]
Poltergeist Inc. Part Two by E Rocco Caldwell Hilliard Aerospace has a secret.... [390 words]
Poltergeist Inc. Part One by E Rocco Caldwell One corporation has figured out how to defeat it's competitors...cut all energy cost ... [683 words]
Next Time Father... by Josh Anderson The fourth part to the series of Serra's Swamp. Please check it out! [915 words]
Lost Christmas by Abbie Angel - [379 words]
Look Of Death by Josh Anderson The 5th part to serra's swamp. PLEASE read, it would be so much appreciated! :), thanks everyone. [789 words]
His Desire And Her Love by Josh Anderson Part three of Serra's Swamp, please review as im not so sure about this one. This one i... [542 words]
Halls Of Residence by Jack M Brown Blood, sweat, tears. The best of university education. But will the run-down Halls of Reside... [1,968 words]
Grandpappy's Red Flannels by Higgins The moon was out. [383 words]
Grake And Blues by Jack M Brown Nama 'Magician' Ustinov is convicted of genocide and sent to Hell. To get out early, he sets hi... [3,960 words]
Flight School by Mark A Stuart Story about a young boy's refusal to accept conventional wisdom. [1,733 words]
Fever by Angelique Armstrong A story about a young man who is contagious. [2,138 words]
Dying by Mark A Stuart Story of the coming death of a small town in SouthWest Geargia. [1,227 words]
Dying For A Memory by Abbie Angel When there is nothing left, what can you do? [228 words]
Driving Miss Rachel by Mark A Stuart Some advice on dealing with new drivers in your household. [719 words]
Dragon's Law by Richard Dragon If you like hard-boiled detective in the classic sense, this is for you. I'm a gumshoe by trade an... [1,826 words]
Diwali Surprise by Inchara Its about how a middle class family who could not afford much had a surprise diwali celebration... [1,165 words]
Dirty City by Abbie Angel Abbie Angel is running, hiding in a concrete and glass jungle. [696 words]
Comparisons by Mark A Stuart Being thankful for the things that you don't have. [1,020 words]
Charity by Mark A Stuart Lessons of about human kindness and the shortage thereof. [3,818 words]
Blood In The Snow by Josh Anderson An experiment... I decided to take one of my poems and turn it into a short story, im not sur... [285 words]
Bad Habits by Mark A Stuart Sometimes old habits aren't useful in new places. [710 words]
Angel Of The Morning Calm by Steven L Howard On his first overseas assignment he ignored the advice of seniors and almost lost it ... [13,863 words]
And The Light Returns !!! …” by Partha Pratim Majumder God finds out the earth with values eroded. To him, erosion of values means absolu... [1,392 words]
An Unexpected Visitor by Chad Alan Madson Boy who gets an unexpected visit while daydreaming. [1,228 words]
A Gunslinger's Death Is Always Best by Kevin Myrick The Sixth in the Sierra Madre Stories, finally typed up for your enjoyment.... [3,668 words]
The Dance Of A Lifetime by Courteney L Davison An english 8 assignment on a perfect moment. [160 words]
Seymours Christmas Wish by Amber A Whitman A light-hearted Christmas story of a lonely mouse. [523 words]
Mfoam by Diablo Hate Killer loose in twisted world. [617 words]
Dad's Christmas Tree
Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 [25] 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
| |
TITLE (EDIT)
Dad's Christmas Tree |
DESCRIPTION
The year was 1967 when Dad came home with a different type of Christmas Tree?
[1,263 words] |
TITLE KEYWORD
Writing Resource |
AUTHOR
Ruby Alexandra Beloz |
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
My Name is Ruby Alexandra Beloz. I was born in Los Angeles, Ca in 1953. I am a Quality Engineer and I write poetry. I have been published in two books: Poems of Distant Wars and Who will cry for the Soldiers. This is my 1st short story
[October 2004] |
Dad's Christmas Tree
Ruby Alexandra Beloz
The day my Dad came home with a bit of the future and a glimmer of magic inside a great big box,
I can still hear my Mom’s voice outside in the driveway where my Dad parked the car: “Honey, what’s inside the box.”
My Dad told her to put the coffee on, that she was gonna need it!
I can still remember the look on my Mom’s face like it was yesterday.
My Dad had arrived home with a fake aluminum Christmas tree that he bought at the May Co. department store in downtown Los Angeles.
This Christmas tree was like no tree I’d ever seen; it was silver in color and was seven feet tall. It rotated 360 degrees, had a color projector
that made the tree shimmer with every color of the rainbow, looked a rocket ship, and even had a music box built right into base of the tree that played many different Christmas carols.
The year was 1967.
Dad was so proud our new family Christmas tree; he set it up in the living room right in front of the big window that faced the street.
He tried to convince my mother that he had purchased the latest and greatest Christmas tree of its time.
My Dad was way ahead of his time. You got to hand it to my Mom, she smiled back at my Dad, thus, in her own way let him know it was OK even if we had a Christmas tree that looked like it could take off into orbit at any second.
At that moment my Dad knew he had won my Mom over.
I guess it helped that my Dad was good looking and
had a big smile like some movie star.
People used to walk by our home and stop dead in their tracks and, tilting their heads from side to side would just stare at our tree not quite understanding what they had just seen.
I’m sure some people wondered if Martians had just landed at the Beloz home.
I remember this Christmas tree prompted a real love/hate reaction in anyone who saw it for the first time.
We didn’t even know what to make of it ourselves, to tell you the truth. It wasn’t a traditional green Christmas tree and it certainly didn’t smell like a real pine tree either.
To make matters worse, it was made of aluminum of all things.
One thing I did know was that my Dad loved that tree and that was all that mattered.
If you knew my Dad you would have known him to be the latest, greatest gadget type of guy.
He loved big Lincoln Continentals with big chrome bumpers with all the bells and whistles,
and you could bet that car came equipped with every type of electronic gadget that was available in those days.
Dad loved playing his Christmas carols vinyl records on his German made Telefunken Stereo player.
He would play songs sung by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and, oh ya, what would Christmas be with out
Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”? Singing Christmas carols around the tree made it more fun while we were decorating it.
Those moments spent in decorating the tree with my Dad were pure magic;
nothing seemed to interfere with our lives. All was good in the Beloz home.
My Dad always made us feel safe even though, outside the walls of our home,
our country was going through the civil rights movement in the south.
There was constant violence being played out on the television set and the
outbreak of the Vietnam War had just let out a cry in full swing. Soldiers were dying every day.
Protesters were marching in Washington, and all over the Untied States
our American youth were hitchhiking, riding buses or taking trains to protest the Vietnam War and to support civil rights.
We were living in fearful times. So much was changing so rapidly around us that we didn’t know what to make of it,
but one thing was certain - it was Christmas in the Beloz home and family was important to us.
I remember the best part of those evenings was decorating the tree with Dad.
It was an all-night adventure and we would talk and laugh for hours.
My Dad was a Korean War Veteran and he would tell us silly army stories about his buddies while they were all over seas.
He even told us how he learned to ski in Korea.
He would tell us jokes that would have us tears because they were so funny.
Dad would sneak a kiss off my Mom as she passed by into the living room to bring us more goodies;
she would just blush and tell my Dad: not in front of the kids!
Mom would labor all day in the kitchen making her traditional hand made tamales.
The house would be filled with the scents and aromas of Mexican spices and red and green chili-peppers.
She made two types of tamales, one of red chili with pork and, my personal favorite, green chili with cheese.
They were so good that it seemed like she never made enough of them.
All night she would bring out all kinds of goodies and treats for us to eat while decorating the tree.
Then Dad would break out the Eggnog and we would all gather around the tree.
He would make a toast for better days to come and would bow his head and thank God for all of our blessings.
Dad used the tree-decorating time with my brother, Russell and me to find out what we wanted for Christmas.
Russell and I would give Dad our usual wish list.
Back then, in the late 60s, America was in a Rock and Roll explosion;
kids all over America were listening to American Band Stand hosted by Dick Clark.
Russell was a Californian surfer he loved to listen to the Beach Boys.
But me, I liked Bob Dylan; I loved his songs and what they stood for.
Yes, the times were a’changing. That year for Christmas, Russell and I wanted portable record players.
Imagine portable record players that played 45’s and LP’s on black vinyl records. Back then it was so groovy and cool to have one because they could be taken!
No surprise, that year my Dad bought Zenith portable record players for Russell and me. Russell’s was blue and mine was white (Dad knew pink was not my most favorite color).
Dad even put a 45 of the Beatles in each of them.
My Dad and Mom gave us memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
Today, I am old enough to be able to appreciate what they did for us and the many scarifies they made to bring Christmas into our home.
My Father passed away in 1994 of lung cancer, and I lost my brother Russell to skin cancer on January 24th, 2001.
They are both gone now, but the memories of decorating the tree with them is the most cherished treasure that I possess today.
“My heart is like a treasure box filled with a wealth of memories that fill my sad days with happier times.”
So many years have come and gone and I finally realize that the color of the Christmas tree or what it was made of is not what mattered most - it was the gathering around the Christmas tree that brought magic to the night before Christmas in the Beloz home.
Hey do you think my Dad has convinced Saint Peter to put a fake aluminum Christmas tree yet? You can bet on it!
Written by: Ruby Alexandra Beloz
© 12/24/02
Rewritten 10/27/04
|
READER'S REVIEWS (2)
DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.
"I think that it is really good, but it kinda of chops off right in the middle. It's like you are going on and on about this tree and how happy it made you feel because of the times, but i don't think as much detail about the times needs to be in there. For example, only explain a little about how the war was going on and that people were protesting. It seems that when you start to talk about that it is suddenly the focus of your story." -- Ashley, Evergreen Park, IL, 60805.
"i think that this story is very sentimental and important to this woman. it reminds her of her childhood and we all have those memories and this is just one of many. i think that the story was good and interesting but it was very choppy. it jumped from one idea to the next and didnt flow. it also was more deep then just a fictional story. it had history in it too. probably alot of people could relate because they also know what it was like to grow up in that time period." -- Caitlin, chicago, IL.
TO DELETE UNWANTED REVIEWS CLICK HERE! (SELECT "MANAGE TITLE REVIEWS" ACTION) |
|
Submit Your Review for Dad's Christmas Tree
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.
|
|
Submit Your Rating for Dad's Christmas Tree
|
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2002 Ruby Alexandra Beloz |
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
October 2004 |
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2199
|
|
