My Own Little Corner

One memorable Christmas gift from my parents was a black & white spotted Dalmation coat with white hat, mittens and boots to match. No actual photo exists of this ensemble, so  I used an old snapshot of myself and reconstructed it with AI tools. Needless to say, I loved it. My mother took me to every Disney movie, so I was quite familiar with "101 Dalmations." However, looking back, I wonder if I was actually channeling my inner Cruella De Vil, which would be shocking, considering I was, and have always been,  a dog lover. It would have broken my seven-year old heart  if Pongo and Pedita were distraught at my choice of fashion.   A mini Cruella De Vil "No real dogs were harmed in the making of this coat"

" The House Without a Christmas Tree  is a 1972  television movie  that centers on the relationship between Adelaide "Addie" Mills , a bright and energetic only child, and her melancholy father, James Addison Mills III . James had never recovered from the death of his wife Helen (Addie's mother), and is bitterly against ever having a Christmas tree in the house. The videotaped production was seen regularly on CBS during the holiday season between 1972 and 1977." J.T.: A Christmas Special (1969): "A classic, heartwarming TV movie about a shy Harlem youngster named J.T. Gamble who finds and cares for a sick, one-eyed alley cat right before Christmas . The special originally aired on CBS's Saturday morning programming and was so well-received that it was re-aired in prime time, winning a Peabody Award in 1970." The Homecoming : A Christmas Story (1971) : "On Christmas Eve 1933, a rural Virginia clan, the Waltons, are preparing to celebrate the ...

Remember aluminum Christmas trees? They were all the rage when I was growing up. The silvery branches were illuminated with a spinning color wheel. I used to love lying under ours and watching swirls of blue, yellow, green and red dancing across the ceiling.  An aluminum Christmas tree in action We were living in "the Space Age,"...the era of the Apollo missions, "Star Trek," "Lost in Space" and "The Jetsons." With its futuristic look,  the aluminum  Christmas tree certainly fit the times. My mother was no sci-fi  fan. The appeal for her was ease of set-up. Attach the branches to a steel pole, hang some ornaments,  plug in the color wheel and  voila ! No messy pine needles to sweep up, no pesky watering can, no lights to untangle and drape (fire hazard, ya know). We kids thought we were hip, so everyone was happy. Until... Remember the scene in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" when he thought he killed the little neglected wooden tree by han...

My mother cleaning up after Thanksgiving dinner. (Dig that crazy wallpaper!)  Thanksgiving was very informal at our house. Our grandparents were our only guests. That's my grandfather sitting at the head of the table, keeping my mother company. God bless him, he'd wear a suit and tie just to bring in the newspaper. My father and brothers were probably in the living room, with full bellies, no doubt engrossed in that day's football games.  My exhausted mother would undoubtedly agree with  Erma Bombeck who said, "Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not a coincidence." Unfortunately, I was no mother's helper. To quote Charlie Brown:  "I can't cook a Thanksgiving dinner. All I can make is cold cereal and maybe toast." My only contribution that day was the photo. Now that I'm (much) older and have prepared a few Thankgiving dinners of my own,  I appreciate my mother ev...

On a Sunday evening in 1968, we gather around our RCA Victor color television for the annual showing of “The Wizard of Oz.” My father settles into his armchair, arranges his pack of Marlboros and an ashtray within reach and glances at his watch. Two hours until “Bonanza.” With a resigned sigh, he opens a newspaper. “Oz” is not on his must-see viewing list.   I stretch out on the carpet, chin propped in my hands, feeling warm and toasty in freshly laundered PJs. Huntley and Brinkley are wrapping up the nightly news. Lamplight casts ghostly images of battle and protests and unrest upon the walls; the room reverberates with the sounds of gunfire and whirling helicopters and chatter about the recent assassination of a black King with a booming voice.  Charlie, my ten-year old brother, sprawls across from me, surrounded by his GI Joe action figures and announces how he can’t wait until he’s old enough to go fight in that fiery place called Vietnam. I’m only seven and ad...