christmas

A Christmas riddle for you. What does Santa's little horse want for Christmas this year? A "pony sleigh station". That riddle courtesy of Presley Frances Jones.
Here we are and we have so much to do just in the time of Nick. This week there are going to be celebrations and family gatherings. There will be Christmas Eve church services and brighter smiles than usual from kids from one to ninety two. I love this week when we are exposed to various holiday treats. Now lets take egg nog and fruit cake for example. I have never had a full cup of egg nog in my life with or without the nog. Claxton, Georgia is a wonderful place I am sure but the "Fruitcake Center of the Universe" economy can not depend on me. Like many of you, I never developed a taste for fruitcake. Lee Blitch who works for the state of Georgia and played football at Georgia Southern hails from Claxton and worked for the company that makes fruitcake. He was paid in green cherries and walnuts. Claxton Fruitcakes have the shelf life of plutonium and make handy door stops.
How many of you have noticed that every Christmas season there are "must have" toys that are hard to find. In the early '80s my cousin Thomas Meunier and his wife Patsy made the trip from Bremen to Cleveland, Georgia to buy a Cabbage Patch doll. They stood in line to buy the creations of Xavier Roberts who because of Tommy and Patsy's generosity has homes in Cleveland, Atlanta, New York City, and London. This year it seems the Nentendo Wii is hot as the grill at Waffle House. They have been reports around the country of fist fights over the game systems and people paying a king's ransom for them on Ebay. I rode all over Cobb County the other night to find Presley and Callie the Blu Ray edition of the Disney "Camp Rock". It was vital that it be found since they both have threatened to never eat a green vegetable as long as they live if I didn't. "Horton Hears A Who" has been seen at my house 157 times since last Wednesday. Somebody tell me why children under the age of 7 will watch a movie or a show, over and over again. It is scary that I know all the names of the cast members of Disney's "Drake and Josh" and "Hannah Montana" because of the repetition of it going every waking hour at the house. The explanation of my indulgence of my children can be explained simply by admitting I am a wimp. The tears of a little girl can stop the flow of the Tallapoosa River and reduce Stone Mountain to a pebble.
My Santa wish list includes an honest governor for the good people of Illinois. I would like for Santa to bring our county school system an end to accreditation probation. Tallapoosa's city council, mayor, and city manager have been good girls and boys in keeping our city a great place to live and they deserve something other than coal in their stockings. Santa please bring Jessie Lee Newman a bigger coffee mug. The Blackmon Family deserve a big "ho, ho, ho" for the gift of the magic of the Christmas lights that kids of all ages enjoy seeing just south of the city. I am going to see them this week. Santa Claus I want you to be extra kind to my Tallapoosa neighbors the Glaze family and to Fred and Joyce Owen. Thank you Santa for all the times you came to see me at 15 Stone Street when growing up in Tallapoosa, and this year some milk and cookies from a couple of little girls will be waiting for you at 70 Rhubarb Lane. Merry Christmas.

Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native and serves on the faculty at Kennesaw State University and as is the Director of Special Projects in the Office of Development at KSU. He can be reached at Rhubarbjones@aol.com or at P.O. Box 1001, Tallapoosa, Georgia 30176