| The Creative Expressions of... Bill Vivrett |
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| Updated 12.24.04 |
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| THE CHRISTMAS OF '39 Page 2 of 9 On came the fall of 1939 promising to be the fall of them all. For this family there seemed to be no solutions. They faced threadbare moments which stacked end to end became domino-dreary days of hopelessness mixed with sleepless nights in shades of gray. The gray-backed fear became a living thing and it dwelt among them. The two oldest children were girls whose names Will proudly announced were Elmie, 12 1/2 and Vee, 10 1/2. Most of their time was spent helping their mother. The girls were thrilled with the new gifts, the young mother and her son. �We must name both and the names must be just right,� Vee determined, fully realizing that Jack would probably tell them what the names would be. Though both sisters were delighted with Jack�s accomplishments, the children�s� parents were less than pleased. �Both must be destroyed. And soon!� Dad decreed. Mother nodded, studying her oldest son�s face carefully. But Jack instantly became the children�s advocate and enthusiastic spokesman. �Lucy will keep field mice out of the house he began. And Laddie will quickly learn, too.� he continued on with increasingly spurious arguments, tenuous as they sounded, even to him. Saving the best rationale till last, with temerity, he summarized using an eight and one half year old�s solid logic. �The best part is--they can be my Christmas present and Bobby�s, and Will�s too.� Jack�s boyish exuberance was getting the best of him as he turned to his little brothers with a quick look of smug self-satisfaction. Bobby winced and all Wills said was �I�m hungry.� From somewhere the older kids brought home an old Sears catalog and every evening the girls or the boys would take turns looking at it. Decisions were made. Decisions were changed. Elmie wanted a book, Vee an inexpensive doll. Jack found a scooter, which cost $2.79, but he quickly announced he�d share with Bobby. Bobby winced. Young Will said he wanted a push toy or a searchlight truck for .69 but what he really wanted was an all steel streamlined car for $1.39 (whatever that meant). The Sears wish book somehow kept these children alive when it seemed nothing else could. Hope was all they had. �It�s Christmas time,� Jack proclaimed. One big eye snapped open and instantly focused on the strategically placed Sears wall calendar. �Not yet,� Bobby responded popping open his one good eye, �It�s only December 10th.� Jack swung both feet out of bed, touched the icy floor and almost yelped before he remembered Billy, sleeping soundly between them. All three boys slept in the living room and since Bobby had fallen back to sleep, Jack slipped into red long johns and socks while absorbed in kitchen sounds and aromas. Their Mom and Dad were talking softly; Dad between slurps of coffee, made mostly from chicory. But it was hot. �I didn�t bring my children out of that city to live like wild creatures and starve in these hard scrabble hills,� mother snapped. �But had it not been for that Parker boy throwing the dart, we�d all be in those rat infested flats, yet,� Dad quietly edged. At that, she exploded with no sound whatsoever, save the chair that fell backward to the tattered linoleum floor. Jack could taste the anger-flash from the kitchen, but who was she angry at, he puzzled? |
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