A heartwarmer: A White Christmas

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Your morning thought for the day:

During this Christmas season,

May you be blessed

With the spirit of the season, which is peace,

The gladness of the season, which is hope,

And the heart of the season, which is love.

This is our last Heartwarmer for the year. We thank you for

your wonderful patronage and loyalty. This is indeed, the best

online community in the world! We love having you as a member.

Heartwarmers really does change people's lives.

We round out the year with a nostalgic Christmas story from

Diane Dean White who will no doubt rekindle memories for many of you.

We'll be back after the New Year, " the good Lord willing and the

creeks don't rise. " (Do any of you remember that old saying we used

in days gone by?)

Have a great holiday with our best wishes for your health and

happiness. Please be safe on the roads.

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A WHITE CHRISTMAS

by Diane Dean White

The 50s was a time when so much was changing in our country.

Many men had recently returned from WWII, and jobs were

available with so much progress starting up, and new ideas were

booming everyday.

I remember well our first television set. The screen was hardly

more than 12 inches wide, but the wood that surrounded it was a

beautiful polished oak. The only shows I recall were I Love Lucy,

Howdy Doody, and the shampoo and soap commercials.

The house where I grew up was a large older home that sat on a

street with a sorority house on one corner and a fraternity house on

the other. We lived across from the main entrance to Michigan State

College (now University). My parents rented rooms out to students,

and we made some interesting friends from other states. The

dividends were reaped in years to follow, as many of those students

stayed in touch with mom and dad, and would often visit them, or

invite them to their homes.

During the Christmas holiday we had the house to ourselves, as

college was over and the guys who stayed with us, went home to their

own families.

As soon as it was " just us " again, we went to the tree farm and

cut down a Christmas tree to take home. The lights were the size of

large eggs, and we always used silver tinsel and some homemade

ornaments. We had a star for the top of the tree and after

decorating it, we'd turn off the living room lights, step back, and

look up at the beautiful Christmas tree.

There were no gifts around the tree at that time. They usually

appeared a night or two before Christmas, so not to tempt young eyes

and hands from checking the contents. My favorite time was early

morning when it was still dark and I would creep downstairs to plug

in the tree lights. I'd just sit next to the tree in my nightgown

and robe and watch the lights and enjoy the quiet of the early

morning, with anticipation of what Santa would soon bring.

A trip to the city and a favorite large department store where

children stood in line for a special visit with Santa was always a

favorite adventure. After telling him our hearts desires, we'd get a

candy cane from Santa's elf and return to mother sharing our talk

with jolly old St. Nick.

Christmas in the city was thrilling. There were streets of

stores and red kettles with volunteers ringing bells to donate change

to help others. Even the Planters Peanut Man appeared and would walk

up and down the busy sidewalk with samples that drew people to the

popular store with the wonderful smell. Clerks were dressed up, many

men wore bow ties, and there were a variety of special sales going

on, with music that filled the air everywhere.

A memory I will never forget is the night we went to see the new

movie, White Christmas.

We took the bus after Dad got home and rode the 30 minute ride

to the city. After looking at all the decorative window displays on

the main street, we walked to the movie theatre and watched the new

release on the large screen. After Bing and the other actors crooned

the finale song White Christmas that became a favorite, we left with

a happy feeling.

It hadn't snowed a lot that year, and this was the week before

Christmas. But when we exited the theatre, we were welcomed by the

glitter and beauty of a fabulous Winter Wonderland! It must have

snowed hard during the two hour film, and with the excitement of the

evening and the snowflakes of white -- it was like a magical scene

I'll never forget.

A number of years have gone by since that time, and although

many memories stand out and are remembered with fondness, there is

something about that night, and our family togetherness that has

remained in my heart since.

Whenever I see a rerun of White Christmas, or hear the words,

" May your days be merry and bright; and may all your Christmases be

white, " my mind goes back to a time in the 50's when simple things

were somehow the best of all.

-- Diane Dean White <Thelamb212 @ aol.com>

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Diane is a newspaper columnist and freelance writer. She is the

author of Beach Walks and Carolina in the Morning and the editor of

HeartCatchers. Diane resides on the Carolina Coast with her husband

; they are the parents of three grown children and three grand

gals. You may visit Diane's website at http://www.DianeDeanWhite.com

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FROM OUR MAILBAG

(in response to our last story, There Ain't No Santa Claus)

Dear Heartwarmers:

Merry Christmas to all Heartwarmer readers. always writes

such good stories. I look forward to reading them. Thank you ,

Merry Christmas.

-- Gladys <gsenns @ myway.com>

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Grace says: When Anne's daughter, , was in first grade, she

came home one day all distraught because someone told her that there

was no Santa Claus. Anne told her that was too bad because Santa did

not bring presents to kids who did not believe in him. She thought

about that for quite awhile, then she said, " I knew she was just

kidding all along. "

If you ever hear any funny comments from your children or

grandkids, you can email Grace at graceh @ kpcnews.net (remove the

spaces before and after the @ symbol to email). You can get

Kidwarmers for free by sending an email to: join@...

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