Oh Christmas Tree

I am interrupting the vacation story to blog about Christmas. So Merry Christmas everyone.

When I was single I had this pathetic looking tree. I don't even think it was a Christmas tree, I think I just bought something that had some pine needles on it. Now my wife and I have two Christmas trees. We bought one with pre-lit white lights and got a great deal on another with colored lights. We use the bigger one for the living room. My wife decorates it with all the nice pretty ornaments that she has collected over the years. The other tree is my tree. I recently started a collection of cartoon ornaments. I have Muppets, Peanuts and Looney Toones.

Looking at the two Christmas trees had me thinking that they do represent what Christmas is about. They are covered with things that we love or remember. Along with my cartoon ornaments, are some very old glass bulbs that were handed down to me from my parents. Most belonged to my Dad when he was a kid. I love looking at my tree and seeing those old ornaments and remembering Christmases past. I would be awake all night waiting for Santa, trying to hear when he would show up. Our chimney was not very safe, but I knew when he left because he would slam the front door. I would be the first out of bed. It did not matter if it was 3:00 in the morning, I would have everybody up to see what Ol' Saint Nick left.

On the other tree, my wife and I started a collection of buying an ornament that represents where we went on vacation. We recently got to add a star fish and a sombrero that we bought in Mexico on our cruise. There are also ornaments from Sea World, Bush Gardens and one from Disney that we got on our honeymoon that started it all. Christmas trees have personalities that represent the things we love or loved in the past.

Where did the Christmas Tree come from;

"There is no evidence that the modern custom of a Christmas tree originated in paganism. The Romans did decorate their houses with greens and lights and exchanged gifts. Late in the Middle Ages, the Germans and Scandinavians placed evergreen trees in their homes or outside their doors to show their hope in the forthcoming spring. The modern-day Christmas tree evolved from these early German traditions. " From allabouthistory.org

Then consider what we put under the Christmas tree....PRESENTS!!! We buy gifts for the people in our life to show how much we love them. We stress out trying to find the perfect gift to show how much we love that person. We try to teach kids it's not the getting it's the giving.

So why did I pick Christmas Trees as my topic for this joyful season. Because it is the theme of my favorite Christmas TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” There is a scene where Charlie Brown and Linus are picking out a tree and Charlie Brown picks out the worst looking tree in the lot. Linus had two of the best lines in the story. The second one is;

Linus says: "I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love."

Isn't that Christmas, showing people a little love. Not just family and friends. But this is a time of year we are nice to strangers and maybe go out of our way for those less fortunate. The Christmas season seems to be a time when everyone tries to show a little love to each other.

But lets face it, all we really care about is the gifts. That is what Christmas is about the Gift. The gift of the Son from the Father to us all. The gift of the Savior or as Linus would put it from the ornament that started my collection (you may need to turn up the volume on your speakers);

Merry Christmas Everyone.

Vacation on Cruise-Day 2

From the theme of Gilligan's Island

Sit right back and hear a tale

A tale of a fateful trip

That started from this tropic port

Aboard this tiny ship…. 

Sadly I did not have to look up the words to the song; also we were not on a tiny ship. It was a very large ship with more people than just Mr. and Mrs. Howell, though most of the people were their age or older. We got to the port to start our cruise. The people watching had begun. As we looked around the waiting area we were noticing that we may be the only normal people getting on this boat. Most of these people looked like they just rolled out of bed and maybe took a shower before showing up. The other people getting on board were newlyweds. You could tell because they would stare at each other, smile and laugh. Then the minute one turned away the other would have a look of horror on their face, wondering what had they just done. Then you had the cheap people. You have to pay for drinks while on the boat, except for water and lemon-aid. But, the cruise will let you carry on your own sodas. So I saw husbands, fiancés, and boyfriends carry around bulks of soda they just bought at Sam's club. 

So it was time to board the ship. You were able to relax on deck until it was time for lunch. I was shock at the number of people on this boat, and what was also shocking was that some of them were already in their bathing suits, lying out in the sun within minutes of getting on. Unfortunately I had to see all these people in their bathing suits throughout the week. I definitely was not cruising with Mary Ann and Ginger. They were mostly a bunch of Skippers and very large Islanders.

Then it was lunch time. Like a herd of cows everyone rushed toward the feeding trough. This was serious business and it was every man, woman, and child for themselves. People were pushing and cutting in lines like it was their last meal. It's all you can eat; I thought they were going to eat it all that day. More about the food at gabbin-bout-grub. 

So after lunch we stood out on the back of the deck and watched the shore line as we sailed away. We worked our away to the front of the boat to watch one of many sunsets that week. If you ever get to leave the Tampa port, be sure to get to the highest point of the boat as you possibly can. The boats have to go under one of the longest bridges in the south, and there is only a 10 foot clearance from the top of the ship to the bottom of the bridge. If you are up there watching it, it looks like it is going to crash into each other. Once under the bridge you are in foreign water and it's time to turn off the cell phone. Or else you will get a very high roaming charge on your bill. During this time we met a very nice couple and ended up in someone’s wedding photos. Not by accident, we were asked to be a part of it. The photographer asked us to look at the couple with our hands in the air in celebration. That was a little weird and this couple will be looking at their album later on in life wondering who these crazy people were at their wedding.

The rest of the evening we explored the boat until dinner. We saw a bar, another bar, a casino, and then another bar. We did find one of best spots on the boat. The all you can eat ice cream bar. The other spot was the 24 hour pizza buffet. Really it was a very nice ship, with plenty to look at and do. When in doubt you just find a spot by the pool and relax, which we did until dinner. To be continued at www.gabbin-bout-grub.blogspot.com