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CHRISTMAS SHOPPING AT THE DUMP



Christmas was coming.


Last year we didn't have a tree.


Me and the boys each got a chocolate candy bar

and a nickel.


Mom got nothing.

Daddy got nothing.



Me and the boys felt bad about it.

We wanted presents for Mom and Daddy this year.




One day Daddy

had to leave work to take Mom and the baby

to the Doctor for a check-up.

* * *
Now, I don't know whose idea it was......

certainly not mine!


But no sooner had their car gone down the street

and around the corner

than we ran like the wind to the dump!


It was hot and stinky

full of dented tin cans

rotted green meat bones

moldy bread

flies

billions of gnats

maggots.


All three of us were in a hurry

to find what we wanted and GET OUT!



I found a perfectly good teatowel

that had a picture of a cat with a feather in its mouth

no holes or rips

and I thought Mom would really like it.

* * *
Wes found a red fountain pen

so we got a brown bag

shook the nasty off it

and Wes uncapped the pen

and wrote on the bag

and there was ink in it!


He thought Dad would like it.

* * *
But Jimmy found the prize

when he found a chipped teacup

with its saucer laying nearby.




I was so jealous!

It was dainty

with pink flowers and green leaves

and gold edges.

It had a chip

but we knew Mom would like it anyway

because she loved beautiful things.




I washed the teatowel

and hung it on the crossbars under my cot

to dry.

Then I pushed my pillow way up towards the wall

so Mom wouldn't see it.


Jimmy washed his cup and saucer

and got up on a chair

and hid it way back in the darkest corner of the cupboard.

* * *
We figured Mom would never find it there

because she wasn't even five feet tall

so she never bothered with the high cupboards.


Wes hid the fountain pen

in the pocket of some old ripped overalls

that he hoped he would never have to wear again.


We could hardly wait 'til Christmas!



When the Big Day came

Mom made yeast doughnuts for breakfast

and set a red candle on a saucer in the middle of the table.


Us kids got a big surprise

because there, on each of our plates

was a coloring book and the 64 colors box of crayons!

* * *
We brought out our gifts

wrapped in toilet paper

with a toilet paper carnation

that we had made

for a bow.




Both Mom and Daddy looked mighty surprised!

* * *
Mom raised an eyebrow at us

as she unwrapped her gifts

but she didn't say anything

except to thank us

and hug us

so I thought we had gotten away with it.


I should have known better.

* * *
That night, at devotions, Mom prayed

"Dear Lord, please help our children

to resist temptation

and not go to the dump

where they are not allowed to go".


You could never put anything over on Mom.





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