Now Christmas Past

      More Letters From Paradise
         Now Christmas Past
All the gifts have been opened, the wrappings have been put in the trash. No more Christmas carols on the radio and t.v. The tree is taken down and its decorations put away until next year. The same things are done here as everywhere else.

Thinking back, I remember at this time of year my friends and I would roam the neighborhood looking for Christmas trees that had been thrown out. Some trees still had tinsel icicles left on them. When very carefully removed and placed over your hand, they could be put on a bit of cardboard, to be used next Christmas.

Real icicles hung from the roofs of many houses. These icicles were refreshing, but lacking of any flavor. New ice skates would be tried out, but if not, old high top women's figure skates with soft sides, bought at the Salvation Army store for $2.00 would have to do. No ankle support, resulting in very sore ankles.

If Santa had brought you a new sled, so much the better. If not, you could always slide down snow packed hills, seated on a coal shovel, or with a bit of cardboard or some linoleum.

You could lie down in the snow and move your hands and feet, making a snow angel. A wide circle could be tramped in the snow and divided into four parts, for a game of "Fox and Geese."

Snow forts and igloos were built and knocked down. There was always the idea to freeze snowballs to be used in summer. But none of my friends knew anybody who owned  a deep freeze, with extra room they were not  using. So the idea became only a memory.

We were all outdoor kids in those days, many with sore ankles, cold feet, and red faces.
After Christmas, winter seemed to go on forever.

         Aloha
         Grant