Growing Up In Small Town America Part 19

 PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS

                                                            My Beautiful Sister 1967

I have vivid memories of Christmas, more especially from the time that we moved into our home on Bismark Street. As a family we would go down to the Optimist Club Tree lot and pick out a Christmas tree. It was always cold weather. Daddy would place it in the tree stand, and then on the weekend, he would flock the tree. This was a process that caught on in the 60s. General Mills marketed Sno-Flok home kits, to be applied using a gun that attached to a vacuum cleaner. He would flock the tree white, I suppose to look like snow. We decorated it with LOTS of white lights and red balls. I thought the tree was magical as we displayed it in our front bay window. People would drive by to admire it. Later on, Daddy learned of a nursery in Wichita Falls that flocked trees, and we would drive over and select a tree from them. At that point, we began choosing green flocking and used yellow lights and gold balls. The trees became bigger and more elaborate as time passed. For a short time, we tried the aluminum tree with a revolving light illuminating it in different colors. Mother began decorating a smaller tree in the den with child-like decorations which I began to take over the older that I got. It is a tradition that I continue to this day. I am very fond of the old fashioned trees. Derek and I decorate our tree with our first year handmade dough ornaments, our yearly ornaments, Mother’s handmade stuffed ornaments, and the ornaments we collected on our travels through 23 countries.

1965 - below

1966 - below

1973 - below

The Novelty Tree that I took over when I got older. I was seeking approval from my best friend, Pal. Pal was my dog (who adopted me). He followed me everywhere and it was the first dog that Mother allowed inside. 

Know When To Go

 

Historic Election

 

This morning, I want to thank the Democrat Party for showing us where we need to be as a nation. To quote the Ohio senator-elect, it was not a red wave but a red, white, and blue wave. We are tired of politicians overlooking the needs of the average AMERICAN citizen.

 At 4 am, I tuned into NBC and found a calm desk of people talking (they were probably grieving as the media has become corrupt and no longer reports ALL the news correctly) about what needs to be done in this nation. A projected presidential winner had been made. They were reflecting on what the Democrats should learn from this election, mainly that they should not overlook the needs of certain classes, citing examples of the Latino community. I then turned to FOX and was offended by a black guy who ranted about the responses that he was hearing on other channels. He was upset that the networks were not focusing on the problems that Democrats are facing. That was the exact opposite of what I had just heard.

 We must stop this rhetoric! We must STOP and start listening to everyone without prejudice. We have become a "WOKE" society. This is because the left has shoved down our throats that it is normal to have transgender, even to the point of letting children change their sex, that blacks should have more privilege and should be paid reparations for past grievances, the rainbow coalition, the list goes on and on, shaming white America for all the ills of society and making them afraid to speak out. I left prejudice behind the year I started teaching, nearly 5 decades ago. There are needs and rights of the American people that have been stepped on. Not to mention that we no longer have a border; millions from across the world have flooded our borders, taking the monies normally spent on Americans to pay for housing, schooling, medications for those here illegally. We have totally crossed the line, choking the life out of the rightful citizens of our nation. The media should be ashamed of their coverage and their rhetoric. The nation-wide slant of the media of support for the Democrat Party is despicable.  But so is the rhetoric on ALL self-appointed networks. The proof is in the pudding. I heard it this morning with my own ears. The ideology of the extremes on either side is NOT what your average person in America believes. So journalist everywhere. Start reporting the unbiased NEWS backed up with a source as proof....PROVE IT! Instead of saying this is unverified and reporting it anyway. This fuels the fire.

 It is a RED WHITE AND BLUE nation. Listen to all of us; cover the news for all of us; bring all of us back together.

P.S. I will not compromise my values and belief system, though I have been lumped into the category of a Christian conservative. I'm not extreme, but these values define who I am. I have often felt that the prejudice is extreme towards me. I was shocked when I voted early on the second day of voting and was handed a "I Voted" sticker written in Spanish. I was told they had run out of English stickers...on the second day of voting??? Once again, it was forced upon me with a lack of sensitivity to who I am. I have accepted other nationalities into our family and loved them all the same. "Jesus loved the little children, red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world."