December 9, 2013

Shopping for the Perfect Gift 

It was a frosty December evening downtown hometown of Worthington.  Only a couple of weeks before Christmas, the stores were filled with customers seeking the perfect gifts for their loved ones.  I was about 9 years old at the time and mom and dad had bundled us up, packed us into the car,  and headed downtown for some shopping.

The night was mystical and magical with snowflakes drifting blithely down from above.  The street light poles were dressed in colorful holiday decorations and strings of garland were strung from one street light to the other across the roads.

Christmas music played magically down the length of the sidewalks that ran in front of the many stores on main street.  As I walked, my feet cut a trail in the light dusting of snow, and I smiled at the people I met along the way.  It was a "silver bells" evening.

Dad had given each one of us kids $10 and sent us out to seek the things on our list:  those items that we would carefully wrap and give to each other come Christmas morning.  I was on a mission to find a watering can for my mother, who was in dire need of a new one as her old one had rusted through the bottom. 

To my dismay, Woolworth's Dime store had no watering cans, nor did Ace Hardware, Ben Franklin, or Rickebeil's Hardware store.  
Dejectedly, I trudged back to our meeting place at JCPenney's department store just down the block.  There I found the rest of the family waiting patiently for me.

"I checked everywhere but no watering cans," I told them, wearing a disappointed frown.  There was a silence as everyone looked at me with wizened eyes.  The look on their faces said it all:  I had spoiled my big surprise for my mother. 

But mom just smiled and said nothing.

I do not believe that I found a watering can that Christmas, but when Mother's Day came around the following May, there were plenty to be found in the local stores and you can bet that mom finally got her new watering can.

To this day, the song "Silver Bells" remains my very favorite Christmas carol because hearing it always takes me back to that special Christmas shopping night so many years ago....

"City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style.   In the air there's a feeling of Christmas.   Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile, and on every street corner you'll hear:   Silver bells, silver bells, it's Christmas time in the city.  Ring a ling, hear them ring, soon it will be Christmas Day!

Strings of street lights, even stop lights blink a bright red and green, as the shoppers rush home with their treasures.  Hear the snow crunch see the kids bunch this is Santa's big scene, and above all the bustle you'll hear:  Silver bells, silver bells, it's Christmas time in the city.  Ring a ling, hear them ring, soon it will be Christmas day."