I have this little lighter. It was given to me after the passing of my uncle. I have it sitting near me and I smile whenever I notice it there. It's that way with any number of things isn't it? It can be that way with people as well. We have them close by, but they go unnoticed. Then we pause long enough to feel their presence, and we smile. Tis the season for remembering and I do get sentimental at this time. The ghosts of Christmas past will visit. My ghosts usually bring happy memories though, unlike Scrooge and his. That little lighter is engraved with three initials and a date. The initials are those of my uncle. G.L.R. Garnet Leonard Reney, known to me as Uncle Doc. The date? 12-25-49. Christmas 1949, 69 years ago. That little lighter was a gift. My aunt received an identical one from him and that one is in the possession of my brother. Two little things that went unnoticed for many years. Just a simple gift exchanged all those years ago. I don't remember my uncle smoking, but I do remember my aunt having that habit. Seemed like Aunt Bet, short for Betty, always had a cigarette. I have no idea how long each carried and used those lighters. There isn't much sign of wear on either one. I expect they were just little things, carried and used for a while and then set aside, kept close by, but unnoticed.
But I'm talking about an object here, not a person. I enjoy the object because of the memories I attach to it. It carries the memory of my aunt and uncle. The lighter itself holds no memory for me but rather serves as a medium of such. The initials and the date add much to the story. And, the truth is whatever tales I tell about that lighter are stories, conjecture and supposition on my part. After all, I wasn't even alive on that Christmas morning, I wouldn't arrive for another four years. My uncle never spoke of that lighter, or that Christmas to the best of my knowledge. It wasn't something discussed or particularly memorable most likely. It wasn't their first Christmas as man and wife. They weren't married yet! They would marry on the 26th of August in 1950. That bit of information adds another level to me. Those gifts exchanged 69 years ago were kept close their entire married life, treasured by each, kept close but unnoticed. They were married for fifty three years, my aunt passing in 2003. That little lighter brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my soul.
This Christmas, Christmas present, carries a lot of sorrow with it before it even arrives. I lost my sister December the fourth, this will be the first Christmas without her. It's not that we have spent every Christmas in the physical presence of one another, that is definitely not the case. There were many years we were separated by miles and oceans! I always kept her close and realize only now, how I allowed her to go unnoticed at other times of the year. The reason for that is a basic one, taking things for granted. Once we have received a gift we tend to believe it is ours to enjoy forever. That's true, if we take the time to pay attention. All too often we place that gift in a place for safekeeping, our intentions pure, only to ignore that gift. If we are fortunate we rediscover that gift and feel that joy again, the joy we experienced when we first received that gift. It is a feeling of innocence. Like a gift from Santa Claus himself, it is magical. It's not about the object, it is about the dream.
I have a gyro, a toy from the good old days. This gyro was purchased for me by my sister. When I was visiting her we went to an antique shop. This shop had quite the eclectic mixture of things. As we strolled through the shop pointing to this object or that, we talked. Do you remember Mom having one of those? These " antiques " were objects we were both familiar with. What does that say? Old radios,sewing machines, and the bric a brac of everyday living. There on a shelf sat that gyro. I remembered having one as a child. I asked my sister if she remembered that and she admitted she did not. It was just an object, unnoticed by her. I remembered it well, at least one similar to that one, and began telling her about it. I told her how it would balance on a string or your finger. I explained to her how it could be part of a stabilizing mechanism. Yeah I started to geek out a bit about it. We separated, she looking at something her husband called her attention to and I staring at other stuff. After leaving the store my sister presented me with that little gyro. I was, and am, tickled to have it. It has now assumed more meaning and I will keep it close. Yes, at times it will go unnoticed, taken for granted, but whenever I see it I will smile. I will smile for the memory of it, for that memory of my sister. Sometimes, no almost every time, it is the littlest things that hold the most.
It's Christmas eve and I hope you don't find this posting depressing. It was not intended to be so. My sister is here with me, I know that. The sorrow I feel is for myself, my selfish desire to have her close to me one more time. But I have her memory and the gyro. I'm smiling and all is well in the world, it is as it should be. And tonight we all pray, Peace on Earth and Good Will toward men.
But I'm talking about an object here, not a person. I enjoy the object because of the memories I attach to it. It carries the memory of my aunt and uncle. The lighter itself holds no memory for me but rather serves as a medium of such. The initials and the date add much to the story. And, the truth is whatever tales I tell about that lighter are stories, conjecture and supposition on my part. After all, I wasn't even alive on that Christmas morning, I wouldn't arrive for another four years. My uncle never spoke of that lighter, or that Christmas to the best of my knowledge. It wasn't something discussed or particularly memorable most likely. It wasn't their first Christmas as man and wife. They weren't married yet! They would marry on the 26th of August in 1950. That bit of information adds another level to me. Those gifts exchanged 69 years ago were kept close their entire married life, treasured by each, kept close but unnoticed. They were married for fifty three years, my aunt passing in 2003. That little lighter brings a smile to my face and a warm feeling in my soul.
This Christmas, Christmas present, carries a lot of sorrow with it before it even arrives. I lost my sister December the fourth, this will be the first Christmas without her. It's not that we have spent every Christmas in the physical presence of one another, that is definitely not the case. There were many years we were separated by miles and oceans! I always kept her close and realize only now, how I allowed her to go unnoticed at other times of the year. The reason for that is a basic one, taking things for granted. Once we have received a gift we tend to believe it is ours to enjoy forever. That's true, if we take the time to pay attention. All too often we place that gift in a place for safekeeping, our intentions pure, only to ignore that gift. If we are fortunate we rediscover that gift and feel that joy again, the joy we experienced when we first received that gift. It is a feeling of innocence. Like a gift from Santa Claus himself, it is magical. It's not about the object, it is about the dream.
I have a gyro, a toy from the good old days. This gyro was purchased for me by my sister. When I was visiting her we went to an antique shop. This shop had quite the eclectic mixture of things. As we strolled through the shop pointing to this object or that, we talked. Do you remember Mom having one of those? These " antiques " were objects we were both familiar with. What does that say? Old radios,sewing machines, and the bric a brac of everyday living. There on a shelf sat that gyro. I remembered having one as a child. I asked my sister if she remembered that and she admitted she did not. It was just an object, unnoticed by her. I remembered it well, at least one similar to that one, and began telling her about it. I told her how it would balance on a string or your finger. I explained to her how it could be part of a stabilizing mechanism. Yeah I started to geek out a bit about it. We separated, she looking at something her husband called her attention to and I staring at other stuff. After leaving the store my sister presented me with that little gyro. I was, and am, tickled to have it. It has now assumed more meaning and I will keep it close. Yes, at times it will go unnoticed, taken for granted, but whenever I see it I will smile. I will smile for the memory of it, for that memory of my sister. Sometimes, no almost every time, it is the littlest things that hold the most.
It's Christmas eve and I hope you don't find this posting depressing. It was not intended to be so. My sister is here with me, I know that. The sorrow I feel is for myself, my selfish desire to have her close to me one more time. But I have her memory and the gyro. I'm smiling and all is well in the world, it is as it should be. And tonight we all pray, Peace on Earth and Good Will toward men.
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Do you remember playing with these?
No batteries, no power cords, just a piece of string and imagination
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