We, as kids. silently prayed that Xmas eve would fall on a good day. There was discretionary income
nor paycheck until Friday.
That day, our dad would get off from work, somehow have the energy to drive home, eat, then go
grocery shopping with mom, then whatever money left was allocated for holiday gifts (of course,
we all knew the ritual, so no one asked for much nor really wanted much.)
I only hoped he purchased my brother and my present rst. (Well, we were the youngest)) I have no
memory of what my sisters wanted or got.
Most of the best toys were picked over by the time of our holiday spree. If we didn't get the popular
toys at the moment, we always fell back on the family gift, our used Monopoly board game. We
kept it in good shape...the money too.
If we did get the off-brand cheaper variety of what was left. It always seemed to be the cheaper
skates. I hated those things. They only lasted a couple of days before you converted them to
skateboard rejects.
However, our presents were always better than "The Rock" Charlie Brown always got for
Christmas...well, most of the time. I felt Charlie Brown's pain, having received a rock for Christmas.
With me, it would be a little embarrassing to have my childhood friends ask me, "What did you get
for Christmas?" Well, we never lied, because, as friends, we all shared and played each other's gifts
anyway.
Bicycle present...out of the question. One year my father bought me a scooter for Christmas, red as
I remember, Western Flyer... WOW, man. was I happy?
I was the favorite that year...lol.