It usually takes me many days to clean up the Christmas decorations. I put out a lot so to do it all in one day is a bit much. Today though, it was time to box it all up. Before I did this though, I had one more Christmas tradition to check off – watching A Christmas Story but this year, I had two to watch thanks to my wife.
Last year, they released A Christmas Story Christmas – a sequel to that 80’s ‘you’ll shoot your eye out’ classic, with the original kids all returning for a Cleveland Street reunion.
I really enjoyed the way they dealt with the death of the father and Ralphie and his family returning home. I was sad when I heard they hadn’t brought back the original mother – Darren McGaven (Mr. Parker), had long-since died – but she was not well health-wise and would pass on before the movie was released. Bringing in Julie Hagerty as the mom though, couldn’t have been a more well-suited choice. In the end, the sequel takes place in 1973 so I am not sure if bringing back the original folks would have worked anyway.
The end – as a writer – is what caught me the most. It begs the dreamer to look within to answer the question ‘What is my purpose – my gift – within this craft.’
The illuminated but otherwise bare, Christmas tree and the lights around the livingroom are all that remain. Each year, I repurpose the tree in the yard, and adorn it one last time with lights. There it will remain brightening up our yard until winter’s end.
I go to bed tonight, in love with the addition of what will surely be the final installment of my favorite Christmas tale, left to ponder my purpose as a writer. What is my thing? Where does Larry meet A Christmas Story , meets Jean Shepherd storyteller’s voice?