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Andy Williams is belting out "Its the Most Wonderful Time of the
Year" on the iPad
as I am trying to wrestle control of the
Apple device from
my kindergartener who wants to play the game application "Angry Birds"
that makes me think of the buzzards that dwell in our town every year.
Their roosting place on the edge of the driveway was cut down and I am
quite sure they are not real happy with having it cut down. Bud Jones
told me that our town's buzzards are in migration and they are pretty
docile creatures even though they are not the most hygenic in the field
of ornithology. I have proof of that this time every year with my
frequent visits to the spray off car wash on the south end of
town. Christmas time is with us and I love the new "Christmas
98" on the FM dial that is playing non-stop
Christmas music until the 26th when the new format will be
launched by Gradick Communications. CEO Steve Gradick is tight lipped on
the new music they'll be playing right after Christmas. "Rockin'
Around the Christmas Tree" by
Brenda Lee is one of my all time favorite songs. It was recorded
in 1958 in Nashville and wasn't a hit until "Little Miss Dynamite" took
off in 1960. She gave me a gold record of the song that hangs in my
office. Brenda once told me the story of touring the United Kingdom in
1962. Her opening act was four young men who hailed from the English
port city of Liverpool. She went to her record company when she returned
from the tour and sung the praises of the lads. The executives with the
record company passed on them because they felt guitar bands were not
going to happen. Were they ever wrong about how the
Beatles would sell.
They sold, and sold, and are still selling. The record executive died
from excessive kicking himself in the rear end. It is the time of the
year of eggnog, hot apple cider, stick candy, and Claxton fruit cakes
that make wonderful door stops. It is a time of great excitement that
too often can turn stressful. Keep calm, relax and remember who's
birthday we celebrate. That birthday we celebrate should be noted for
peace and goodwill. He commanded us to "love ye one another." A way to
do that is to write a check to the Tallapoosa Service Council. Ronnie
Brooks and others do a tremendous job of trying to help the less
fortunate. You can drop a check off at city hall and it will help
brighten a child's Christmas. I remember once around 50 years ago that
my mother had a back injury at work and was disabled for a few months.
The holidays were only a few days away when she sat me down and said
that there would be very few Christmas gifts that year because of the
lack of money that was needed to buy food and pay the light and gas
bills. I will never forget the tears in my mother's eyes and how
difficult that must have been for her.
Christmas Eve
afternoon arrived and Richard D. Allen, Jr. who was a student at
Tallapoosa High School pulled up in the gravel driveway and got out a
box of groceries. In that box contained a football. It was the best
Christmas gift I ever received. I played with that football for years
and years. It was a reminder to me of the sweet generosity of
Tallapoosans through the support of the Service Council. The football
was with me until sometime in high school when either Keith Hughes or
Butch Henderson kicked the ball into the monster kudzu behind
Mrs.Whitley's house on Stone Street never to be seen again. "Toys
for Tots" is running behind in their donations this year I am
told. Captain Herb Emory of WSB Radio does a great job in his efforts
for the humanitarian efforts of the United States Marine Corps. "Toys
for Tots" has for decades helped children enjoy something under the
tree. A new unwrapped toy can be dropped off at locations around West
Georgia. Publix in Carrollton is one drop spot. Bring a new unwrapped
toy and it will bring a smile to a child. For the price of a Chia Pet
for that sorry brother in law, you can buy a toy for "Toys for Tots."
There are certain recording artists that only get played this time of
year. Bing Crosby,
Andy Williams,
Burl Ives, Gene
Autry, and Perry
Como sing the songs that will live forever in our hearts. I can
live without some of the holiday hits like "Jingle
Bells" by the Singing Dogs. Elmo and Patsy's "Grandma Got Run
Over By A Reindeer" should be locked in a vault until after I'm dead.
There are some songs that I love like "Feliz
Navidad" by Jose
Feliciano and
Kenny Rogers and Wynonna's "Mary Did You Know." It isn't
Christmas until Elvis sings "Here
Comes Santa Claus" and "Blue
Christmas." Alan Jackson's remake of the Burl Ives classic "Holly
Jolly Christmas" is a welcome sound of the season. Sandy Pinkard and
Richard Bowden recorded a song that came out in 1986 called "A Christmas
Gift." It is a recitation about two grandparents who had died and how
much they were missed. I related to it the first time we played it on
the air. "Christmas Shoes" by NewSong is another heart tugger that gets
played during the
Christmas season. The air is crisp and people seem to be smiling
a bit more than usual. Am I the only person that would rather shop at
Family Dollar or Big Lots than at a mall? Who among you would rather go
to the Bremen Walmart than to
Lenox Square? Who
would rather have a lunch plate from the deli at Piggly Wiggly than from
any restaurant in Buckhead. Christmas means
Jean Shepard's "Christmas
Story" that gets played for 24 hours straight on TBS beginning
Christmas Eve. It can't be truly Christmas time until
Jimmy Stewart's and
Donna Reed help us
all count our blessings in "Its
A Wonderful Life."
In a week or so TVLand will play the "Andy Griffith Show" and the show
that is a take off of Charles Dickens'"A
Christmas Carol."
It seems the
political correctness
police this year are not breathing down the collective necks of us that
say "Merry
Christmas."
We are only ten days away from
winter. Those of us that were outside last week know its already here.
Dear readers I have a question. What is your fondest memory of a past
Christmas? I'd love to hear from you.
Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native
and serves as a Distinguished Lecturer in the Department of
Communication and Director of Special Projects in the Office of
Development at Kennesaw State University. Your comments are welcome at
P. O. Box 1001,
Tallapoosa, GA 30176 or via email at
rhubarbjones@aol.com or
professorrhubarb@gmail.com Previous columns can be found at
www.tallapoosa-journal.com
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