Thank You For Not Smoking

As I said in the entry below, there was a Christmas where dad didn't get off as lucky as he did that year. One Christmas he ended up with only a single present. And, it was definitely NOT what he asked Santa for. He was about 11, maybe 12 at the oldest, and all summer he and his brother had taken to smoking. There was an empty lot across the street next to the school and they would climb up the tree, hide there and smoke and curse and do things they thought made them extra cool. Well, one day in September, their sister Debbie was supposed to come get them and have them come home for supper. Well, she saw them smoking and said, "I saw what you did and I'm telling!". Plus, little did they know, but their mom had also seen them. They went home for supper, fully expecting to be in HUGE amounts of trouble from their dad, but he didn't say a word. Hmm... they thought.... maybe Debbie didn't rat us out after all. And, it was apparent that their mom hadn't said anything either, because nothing was said that night or many, many nights to follow. They got away with it! Four months later, Christmas rolls around. It was Christmas Eve night and my dad and his brother and sisters opened their presents on Christmas Eve in the evenings after supper, instead of Christmas morning. His dad would always bring out bags that had their presents in them. And, dad said that Gramps always gave them toys and cool stuff, where as their mom would give them socks and shirts and things like that. So, the time had come when Gramps brought out the bags. They were excited to see what great things he got them that year. As they were handed the gift, wrapped up in paper, they quickly opened it to see what they got. Inside they didn't find the newest baseball game or a new truck. No. Instead, both Carl and Dad opened up their gift to find an ashtray inside. "Thought you got away with it, didn't you?" Grandpa said to them. They were shocked! After all those months of nothing, they thought surely their summer indiscretions were just a thing of the past and here the product of their deeds was sitting in their hands. They cried and cried as they realized that they had been caught and that their punishment was a Christmas without presents. Only a single ashtray to last for another 365 days. At their weeping, their mom said, "Oh Carl, give them their presents." Gramps had gotten them REAL presents that year, but the point had been made. Dad still isn't sure if his mom or his sister told his dad about what they saw. But whoever did was responsible for helping aid his dad in making a very lasting impression on a 11 yr old that Christmas Eve back in the late '50s. Something he still remembers over half a century later.