Merry Christmas!

Those of you who have been reading my blog and those of you who know me know that I have a bit of a warped sense of humor.

Along those lines, I can promise you that this movie will be watched at our house about a dozen times over the Christmas holiday season and I will laugh every time I watch it.

I know one reason my family and I love the movie is because it is hilarious.  I also believe that it resonates with folks like me because we can relate to a lot of it.  No, I have never had to wear a pink bunny outfit that my aunt gave me, but good humor usually has at least some truth in it.

Let me give you an example.  The movie’s main character, Ralph, desperately wants a Red Rider BB-gun for Christmas.  Much of the plot centers around Ralphie’s efforts to convince his folks that he should receive a Red Rider BB-gun for Christmas.  Wow, how many of us can remember Christmases past when we hoped for one of those long, slender boxes with our name on it to be found under the Christmas tree?  I am pretty sure I can remember receiving the .22, bolt-action rifle that I still use under the tree one Christmas.  I also remember a time when I was severely under-gunned when it came to wing-shooting and badly needed an upgrade.  That Christmas did not produce the long, slender, wrapped box that I hoped for, no, instead in a much smaller box was a clipping from a catalogue showing the side-by-side 16 gauge that was back-ordered, but on its way (my Dad always shot a 16 gauge, so have I, so is my son, I guess we are weird that way too).  I have killed a darned lot of Nebraska pheasants with that side-by-side over the years, if that gun could talk, the tales it would tell. . . .

Anyway, every time Ralphie hints that he wants a Red Rider BB-gun for Christmas, he is told, mostly by the women-folk, that those things are dangerous, “You’ll shoot your eye out”.  Come Christmas morning, after all the gifts have been opened, Ralphie’s father points out one last gift hidden in the corner, and it is one of those long, slender boxes!  I think a lot of us love the movie because at that moment we know exactly how Ralphie feels, we have felt that way ourselves.

In case you have not seen it, and if you have not, what rock have you been living under?  (If you get TBS on your TV, here’s your chance, http://www.tbs.com/movies/movietitle/0,,%7C%7C2099,00.html ) I will not give away any of the rest of the movie.  If you have not seen it, you really should watch it.  If you are like me, if you grew up hunting, fishing, trapping and shooting, I will bet you get a lump in your throat while watching Ralphie open his Red Rider BB-gun.

Merry Christmas everyone, hope you get one of those long, slender boxes with your name on it under your tree, or even better yet, hope you get to give one of those long, slender boxes to someone who means a lot to you!  Don’t shoot your eye out!

P.S.  Still working on one of those “major awards”, I am guessing a genuine leg lamp will come in a really big box.  Maybe I will find that under the tree this year?