Christmas makes me nostalgic, filled with good cheer and warm feelings. Same as last year when in an excess of love for you all, I wrote the following. I found it today and thought it might be enjoyed. It later was given various titles-for instance X wrote--
Silly, Its Clearly "Christmas on Possum's Mountain." And no doubt it will later be serialized as "The Possum's." Night Penni. Night Billybob. Night Janice Girl. Night lil 'lexa.....
--which led to weeks of a terrible, terrible rash of possum jokes...one of the high points of DAR-or low--or something
To: +JF Quinnelly (4907 )
From: +penni westbrook Tuesday, Dec 9 1997 10:37AM ET
Reply # of 14997
I stood over the stove, gazing into the vat of boilin' water and wonderin' jest how in tarnation I was gonna feed the kids tonight with one moldy tater and an onion. The icy wind blew down the chimbley and MikeBaby stirred in his cradle, whimpering a bit.
"Ma," whined Li'l Lexa, pulling on my apron, "I'm hungry."
"I know, L'il Lexa. Pa should be home soon. Hope him and PaulBoy and FreddyBob done caught somethin' for our Christmas dinner."
JaniceGirl ran in, her thin cheeks raw from the snow, her l'il fingers frozen in their torn, holey mittens. How excited she was gonna be Christmas mornin' when she found the new ones I knit from the threads and bits of yarn I done gathered from birds' nests 'round the mountain.
"Ma," whined JaniceGirl, "BillBob is peein' on the fence agin."
I sighed and stopped stirrin' the boiling water. "You go tell your brother Pa's gonna wear him out if he shorts that fence agin."
"That boy is nuthin' but trouble, mark my words," whined Granma from her rocker by the fire, where she was pickin at the innards of a chestnut she'd found that mornin and roasted.
"HEsh up, ol'jpWoman," snapped GrampaJeff, snapping his suspenders threateningly at her.
"Huh," Granma snorted, "You make me." She waved her steeltipped boot at him meanacingly.
"Oh, stop it, you two lovebirds," I smiled at them affectionately. "Granma, do you wanna put that chestnut in the soup here. It's a mite weak."
"Go find yer own damn nuts," said Granma, puttin' her hands behind her back.
JaniceGirl marched in, dragging BillBob by his hand. He had a surprised look on his face and his hair stood on end. "Ma," she whined. "BillBob stood too close to the fence agin."
I smiled at them both affectionately and said cheerfully, "Zip yer fly up, BillBob, and fetch me some more wood fer the stove."
"Ma!" cried Li'l Lexa from the window. "Here come Pa and FreddyBob and PaulBoy! And they're carryin' somethin!!!"
JaniceGirl ran over and looked out. "Yeah!" she said excitedly. "It's drippin blood and guts on the snow!"
I rushed to the door to greet them. "I wuz gettin' a tad worried, Pa," I smiled, holdin my arms out.
Pa proudly handed me the kill. "Done got us a big, ol' possum. Didn't we boys?"
"Yep, he wuz lyin' right by the side o' the road. I seed 'im." said FreddyBob.
"I seed 'im first," PaulBoy pushed FreddyBob.
"Shet up." Pa smacked both of 'em upside the head. I smiled at my him affectionately and rushed to the stove to throw the possum in the pot.
What a wonderful Christmas dinner we wuz gonna have after all!
"Pa," I said gaily. "Why don't you get out that last bottle o' 'shine you made last August to go with the stew!"
"Make yer own damn likker." Pa said, chugging from the flask in his back pocket.
I laughed affectionately and looked around the warm kitchen, now filled with the smell o' burnin' possum hair and homebrew.
"I love you all!"
"Jest shet up and cook, Woman." Pa wrestled the chestnut away from Granma and ate it. Granma kicked at him.
Granpa lifted the flask carefully from Pa's pocket. "I tol' you not to hitch up with her, Son. THere wuz too much inbreedin' in that thar family."
Turnin' back to the stove I smiled affectionately down at the possum staring back at me. "Merry Christmas," I said and began to stir.
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