Red Bluff Daily News Special Publications
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/21718
Red Bluff Daily News Giving thanks By Pete Stiglich Alittle past midnight. Couldn’t sleep. Decided to rise and check the fire. No point tossing and turn- ing the night away. Placed a cou- ple good sized oak logs onto the smoldering embers. Made myself a cup of hot chocolate and quietly snuggled up on the old, worn leather sofa to reflect upon the pre- vious day. Our ever so pampered house cat and my daily walking compan- ion, Charlie, lies comfortably curled up on mom’s old rocking chair across from me, enjoying the warmth of the fire this cold and frosty night. His eyes begin to slowly squeeze together as he inevitably drifts back to sleep. Together, in silence, we enjoy one another’s company and the soli- tude of the moment. It was a good day yesterday, but a hard one physically, to be sure. Am feeling muscle pains in places I didn’t know existed. Probably the cause of my sleeplessness. A bit tough sitting down. Even tougher getting back up. I must reluctantly admit the steady march of time appears to be taking its inevitable toll. Spent pretty much the entire day in Cottonwood at the home of close family friends, Marta and Andy Andersen. Several weeks back, I had offered to remove an old elm tree in their backyard that had fallen prey to an early season rainstorm. High winds had split its trunk in two, making its survival unlikely. My offer of assistance was gra- ciously and humbly accepted. And, I was glad to help. So, with chain saw in hand, I reduced the tree to manageable pieces in preparation for burning in the tiny backyard of their Cot- tonwood home. Slowly, piece by piece, the debris made its way into the ever growing burn pile. After countless episodes of fetch with Gangster, the Andersen family dog, the job was complete. Little remained of the once mighty elm. Just a small, smoldering pile of ash. The Andersens, like many, live on a fixed, very austere budget. They drive a used car, their home is aging and in need of repairs, din- ing out is the exception, and vaca- tions a rarity. Marta, who receives a small pension for her years working as a state employee, was recently involved in a car accident. As a result, she has suffered some med- ical problems that will take time to heal and is unable to seek employ- ment. But, she’s a trooper and will most assuredly overcome this set- back. Andy’s health is another matter altogether and an area of signifi- cant concern. Though he remains a proud, self-reliant Dane, the debil- itating effects of diabetes continue to impact his quality of life. First to go was his vision. He never com- plained, though, not our Andy. He just discovered new ways to com- pensate for his loss of sight. To the chagrin of friends and family, Andy continued to pursue his pas- sion for wood working and, of course, the use of all its associated power tools. At last count, he still A Christmas Story We lived in Big Bar, Trin- ity County, when I was in sixth grade. We went to a one room school, grades one through seven, my brother, 15 other kids and I. crowd into the school room for the big night and I plead- ed to be excused. No dice - Mrs. L stood firm, I would be a beautiful Mary. In a small community in the mountains, kids band together, all the parents know every kid and all school functions are attend- ed by everyone. The Christ- mas play is the highlight of the school year. Every child has a part and the teacher chose carefully-to each child a part within the child's abil- ity. She tactfully did not mention her options were me, one of the boys, or a girl so small she would probably be mistaken for the baby Jesus! tion. His family owned a huge Great Dane dog named Prince. And since I was small. Prince would seem donkey sized. Prince was not brought to school for rehearsal, so his debut and grand finale would be at the public performance. Our teacher that year was Mrs. Lawless. Mrs. L decid- ed that we should do the bib- lical story of the birth of Jesus. With only sixteen kids there were enough parts for everyone. Mrs. L chose me- the shyest kidin school to be Mary! I was terrified! I knew the whole community would For three weeks prepara- tion went forward for the big night. We kids made back- drops; our fathers built a manger, our mothers made costumes. The only holdup was our lack of a donkey. Mrs. L wanted Mary on a donkey. There were donkeys available but no one would vouch for their donke/s indoor behavior. So Mrs. L was forced to look for something a little less authentic. Jimmy, who was to be Joseph, came up with a solu- The night came - Mom had to threaten me with bod- ily harm to get me into my costume and to the school. At school chairs filled all but a wide center aisle and the designated stage area. On the porch, kids ran around shouting and poking each other, with Mrs. L try- ing to marshal everyone into some semblance of order. Parents settled into chairs and the stage hands dimmed the lights - SHOW TIME! The first part of the pageant was well under way and Mrs. L told Jimmy to bring Prince up on the porch so we could get ready. Since poor Prince was not really a don- key, I was just to walk beside him with part of my costume across his back so that it looked as if he were carrying me. Prince had cropped ears so we had made a pair of donkey sized ears and with the liberal use of a roll of scotch tape we had more or less secured them to his head. Prince did not care for the ears and he hated a leash - he was not a happy dog. trievable departure of one ear. The piano sounded our queue, Mary, Joseph and the disgruntled donkey-dog began the long, arduous journey down the center aisle to Bethlehem! The audience turned, hushed and respectful to watch our approach. Our entrance was slightly marred by the don- key frantically shaking his head and the sudden irre- All was going pretty well; Jimmy had a choke hold on Prince and I had only to trot to keep up. Sud- denly, horribly it Jaappened! The Holy Family was about to suffer the tragedy of a runaway donkey! Prince was a family dog, but he really loved Jimmy's dad best, and there, six chairs in from the road to Bethlehems at his favorite human. Prince deserted his post! Dragging Joseph after him with Mary’s costume tangled in the leash, one hundred and ten pound Prince plowed down the row of chairs top- pling people, slinging ner- vous slobber over everyone in the adjacent rows to land with joyous whines in Jimmy's dad's lap-sending him and the next chairs to the floor! The entire crowd was hysterical with laughter. Mrs. L was struggling to maintain order among the students, a nearly costume- less Mary stood crying alone and Joseph engaged in language familiar to loggers but unbecoming to the father of Jesus! Eventually Prince was tied outside, chairs and peo- ple were righted, Mary's tears were mopped and the journey resumed punctuated by piteous howls from the exiled donkey. The endless journey finally ended and was duly and lengthily applauded. Susan Junge, Los Molinos retained all ten of his digits. Then, as is not uncommon, fur- ther complications led to the loss of his leg. If that wasn’t enough, a year or so later, doctors were forced to also remove the remain- ing leg. Through it all, Andy never complained. Through it all, he dis- played an uncommon strength of character and zeal for life. To the extent possible, he found ways to compensate the best he could for his loss of mobility and sight. This was one proud Dane, bound and determined to live life to its fullest. While others might have tossed in the towel and thrown up their arms in despair, Andy chose a dif- ferent path. Apath that found him walking hand in hand with his Lord and Savior, giving thanks and praise for the many blessings he had received over the years. My friends, Andy recently experienced another in a series of heart attacks that have plagued him over his lifetime. As I com- pose this, he lies in the Shock and Trauma Ward at Mercy Hospital in Redding. The prognosis is not good, his body obviously tiring from many years of struggle. Whether or not he returns to his home in Cottonwood, only his Father in Heaven knows. But, as Andy has often been heard to say, "I’m ready to go." The Andersens long ago dis- covered true happiness and ful- fillment, not in material posses- sions, but in their God, in each other, their family and their friends. To them, nothing could be more important, more valu- able, more precious. In many ways, they are, indeed, truly rich- er than most. As we enter the Holiday Sea- son, take a moment to give thanks to God for all your blessings. It can be a short and simple prayer. The important thing is to give thanks each day. As it says in 1Thessalonians 5:18, "In every- thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus con- cerning you." If Andy can find reason to give thanks, perhaps you can, too. Saturday, December 18, 2010 19A