Christmas is such a busy time of year. I always like to stop and reflect on the true reason we celebrate this incredible holiday. I love the birth of Christ and the fact that it is being celebrated all over the world. I love being with family and friends, enjoying food and wine together and the gifts, too. I love the decorations and church services. I love the memories.
Nostalgia showed up at my door today as I was making cookies and thoughts of my Mom popped into my head. When my children were small I used to love reading them a short story my Mom wrote. I had an assignment in 8th grade to write a short story. I asked her for help and she wrote the story for me! I used it for 3 other assignments in High school and collage and got an A every time. I thought I would share this story on my blog. It says a lot about my Mom. She loved animals and people. She had a great sense of humor and everyone loved being around her. She has been gone over 20 years now and I still think of her everyday. Hope you enjoy her story. The name of the story is “George”.
” His name was George. Nobody could say he was the most beautiful dog in the world nor could anyone say he was the smartest dog in the world, but he was a lovable critter.
It is like a little hard to describe him really me not being an author writing books and being good at descriptions, but I will try.
He was gray and most of the time he was dirty gray not knowing cleanliness is next to Godliness and things like that. He had one blue eye and one brown eye which you have to admit right there gave him distinction if not real class. George had something else and I kind of hate to tell you because it is kinda hard to believe. George had buck teeth! I mean a whole set of them and he smiled like all the time. I mean , did you ever see a buck toothed dog smiling a real smile like all the time? Well, believe me it is something to see. You could be so depressed you couldn’t see straight and a guy like me can get depressed at times. What I mean is I am sixteen and we live in the worst part of town. Some people might call it the other side of the tracks like I have read in books, but there are no tracks here so I guess I just live in the worst part of town. My Father died when I was a little kid and I don’t remember him and I have 2 brothers and a sister. My Mom works all day in a factory and is always tired because she has a hard drag taking care of us and all. I go to High School 4 hours a day and work in Mr. McCary’s store 4 hours a day and I do all the extra little jobs I can get to help out Mom and the kids. I don’t really mind except I can’t play basketball or baseball like other kids at school and there are times a fellah just gets depressed and thinks maybe life just ain’t worth living even if people tell you it is.
Now that you know all that you can kind of see where George came in. He wandered into the neighborhood one day and we never did find out who he belonged to. He smiled at me with that big buck toothed smile and I smiled back, like who could help it? From that day on George was mine and the best friend I will ever have. I was nine when George came into my life and from that day on it was George and me. George went everywhere I went even to Church on Sunday. He sat outside of course and waited. He was always there waiting when I came out and you can’t ask for more than that. When he saw me coming he would wag that old gray tail and smile his old buck toothed smile and the whole world would just look brighter.
He went swimming with me in summer and in the Winter he came with me on all my errands for Mr. McCary. He was with me in the snow, the sleet, the rain and the hail. If I was happy he was happy and if I was sad he would look at me with that old brown eye and blue eye and open his mouth and smile away and who could feel bad after that.
Well, a few months ago I was coming home from school and I went home to get George before heading to Mr. McCary’s. George was always waiting there for me after school. I came to the corner of 7th street , that is where I live, and George saw me and came running down to meet me. I saw the car coming, I saw George running out and then there he was lying in the street. I ran over and knelt beside him. He looked at me with that crazy blue eye and crazy brown eye and his big tongue came out and he licked me on the hand. Just before he died he smiled at me with his big buck tooth smile. I am not a sissy, I am almost a man now, ask anybody, but I put my arms around him and cried.
A guy don’t find a friend like George but once in a lifetime and when I die and go to Heaven George better be there smiling at me. Can you imagine a Heaven without George?”
Hope you enjoyed. Happy Holidays to all and I hope you all have a best friend in your life!