Do you Remember When . . . the best Christmas program on the TV was “A Charlie Brown Christmas”? I do, but most memorable for me was living it.
Last time I mentioned taking my boys and the wife to get a tree. Well, this trek to find the perfect tree started on a day that was about 28 degrees and cloudy with snow flurries. Soon after I got home from work that morning I called a certain woodlot owner that I knew and obtained the necessary permission to cut a Christmas tree or two that afternoon.
My wife worked for a doctor and his wife, and I promised them I would take them to get their very own tree. They were from the big city and were used to paying anywhere from $75 to $150 for a nice but small tree. I gassed up the saw and grabbed my hatchet, and my wife and I had them follow in their vehicle to get that one special tree. As we left their home, I mentioned to my wife how much fun this would be.
We drove out into East Chapman and got out of the truck, and as I grabbed the saw and hatchet, the doc looked at me and he said, “I didn’t think you were ever going to stop. I told my wife that ‘Gee, this guy is taking us into the forest and we will be stuck here till spring.’” All I could do was smile and head down an old tote road into the woods.
We walked for perhaps a half hour and the wife found her tree and I cut it, brought it up to the tote road, and continued on to get the doc and his missus their tree. They thought it was unheard of to just cut the tree and leave it till we returned, as in the big city, if it wasn’t nailed down it was fair game to anyone who came along and wanted it.
About 50 yards further down the road, Mrs. Doc said, “There it is, the most perfect tree I have ever seen,” and the doc agreed. Now, I am from Maine, born and bred. We had all day. We had passed hundreds of better-looking trees. When she said it was the most precious tree, I was still looking, until she walked to it and said, “This one right here.”
If you ever watched any of the Charlie Brown shows, you would have at least seen Snoopy go into his laughing, rolling around on the ground routine. I could imagine Snoopy looking at Mrs. Doc’s precious tree and doing just that. She insisted that was the one she wanted, so I took my hatchet and with one chop cut it off close to the ground.
After I showed her how to hold it to drag it back to the road, we went and collected our tree and went back to the vehicles. We agreed that my wife and I would go home and that doc and his missus would go their way.
The next day when I took my wife to work, Mrs. Doc asked me to come see her tree. Now, I am usually a person who sees the glass as half full, but in the case of that tree when I cut it, my glass was severely needy.
When I stepped into their family room and saw her “special, precious” tree, I know my lower jaw hit the rug. There in front of me was the prettiest tree I had ever seen. She saw in that scrawny tree, in the woods, what I missed.
I guess the only way I can sum it all up is this way: John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in him would have everlasting life.” Mrs. Doc loved that tree and she saw the underlying beauty that God sees in all of us. That was one tree trek I will always remember and cherish.
Well, it is that time of year again when trees are set up and decorated and people go nuts trying to stretch as much of their gift wrapping paper as far as it will go, and there’s craziness in the stores as we all try to get that one special gift for loved ones. This is the time again for stuffed birds and stuffed people as we nap after indulging in the feast that we spend a couple of days preparing.
My favorite movie during this time is “A Christmas Carol.” When the spirits visit Scrooge, one of them opens his cloak and shows Scrooge two waifs, who he calls need and want. Then he tells Scrooge, “Beware of these two because they are most keenly felt at this time of the year.” That being said, If you know of a family member or neighbor or even a person you know who may be in need or alone for the holiday, invite them to dine with you on this one very special day of the year.
After the wrapping paper has been taken to the bin and the leftovers are stored and dishes in the dishwasher, then you can sit back relax and Remember When . . .
Guy Woodworth of Presque Isle is a 1973 graduate of Presque Isle High School and a four-year Navy veteran. He and his wife Theresa have two grown sons and five grandchildren. He may be contacted at lightning117_1999@yahoo.com.
