Farewell PFC Polk: The End of a Nightmare (In the Valley of Hope Book 2) by Weirich Richard

Author:Weirich, Richard [Weirich, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2016-01-23T05:00:00+00:00

By Saturday, December 18, 1954, order had been restored to the Weirich household. It was time to put up the Christmas tree. In previous years, the centerpiece of their holiday decorating went up the day after Thanksgiving, but not this year. Helen wanted to wait until the last minute in hopes that the tree would survive until Buddy’s leave at Easter.

Behind the Weirich home was a large wooded area where there were numerous cedar trees, one of which would be selected for a place of honor in the dining room. The trip into the forest began as a fun journey but then came the moment of reckoning. Which tree? Woody liked the one that was perfectly round.

“Not tall enough? Too fat. That one’s better.”

“The tall tree has too many gaps and it’s crooked.”

Dickie sat on a stump and waited patiently for the mandatory bickering to end. He didn’t know why his dad didn’t just go ahead and let her have her way. She was going to win the argument, just like always. And…she did and life was good again.

“We’ll just put the bad side against the wall,” said Helen, happily accepting her victory. “You’ll never see those gaps.”

Thirty minutes later the tree lay on the back porch where Woody meticulously affixed the stand to the trunk of the tree and then came the part of the tree decorating routine that Dickie hated. It took Woody seemingly forever to hang the lights on the tree.

The ornaments and lights were kept in a large wooden crate, packed in perfect order, and removed with extreme care. Since the assortment of Christmas balls and bells were made of glass, Dickie wasn’t allowed to touch them. Even Helen kept her distance, mainly because Woody was maddeningly slow. While he worked, she entertained herself by making snide comments like: “If we’re lucky, you’ll have it ready by next Christmas,” and “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even my husband.”

The tree had to be perfectly level and turned just the right way. And then came the lights with each strand carefully tested and then placed in perfect symmetry on the tree. Finally, after plugging in the lights and a few readjustments, the next step of the tree lighting ceremony was ready, the hanging of the ornaments.

Sadly, Dickie watched, wishing he could participate. His involvement wouldn’t come until the lower branches, the ones he could safely reach.

“Are you ready?” asked Woody.

“Been ready,” said Dickie.

Helen cautiously removed a large red ball from the crate. “Be real careful not to drop it.”

Finally, cause for excitement. Dickie guided the ornament to a place designated by his father. “A little to the right.”

And then the unthinkable happened. The glass ball slipped through his hands and smashed into a zillion pieces on the floor.

The heated lecture that followed reduced the well-meaning child to tears. Woody blamed Helen for allowing him to hang the ornament. Helen accused Woody of spoiling Christmas for everybody. Then

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