Seasonal Nostalgia

Christmas Shopping Memories

It has been 20 years since my family's last full-blown Christmas get-together. The tradition ended when my mom passed away in the spring of 1996 (as in many families, mom was the ringmaster of that particular circus).

Even now, though, I still run across things that remind me of those family Christmases. My fondest memories are of the ones we all spent together in Kansas City, the family's home beginning in 1967. How vividly I can recall some of the "traditional" shopping I did for family members in those glorious pre-Internet days!

Topsy's at the Crown Center Shops

I was usually tasked with making sure dad got his tub of Topsy's popcorn, which he would cheerfully munch on while reading the books he got for Christmas (books were by far the most popular gifts for every member of my family).

The elusive dark chocolate species

Another of my tasks was making sure mom got her box of Queen Anne chocolate-covered cherries. Made by Brach's, it was easy to find the milk chocolate variety, but I was stubborn enough to keep shopping around to find the dark chocolate version she preferred.

The tradition of getting high-end pipe tobacco for my older brother began when I worked at a clothing store just around the corner from Diebel's on the Country Club Plaza. I would typically get one of his favorites, along with a new variety recommended for him by the store's very knowledgeable staff. Everyone always wanted a sniff when he'd open that particular gift.

My younger brother liked music and movies, but his tastes ran to the rather obscure at times, so Penny Lane Records in Westport was a regular stop for me at Christmas time. If they didn't have something, nobody did.

The famous mirrored storefront

I was also responsible for providing a couple of boxes of Russell Stover chocolates for the whole family to share. You could actually go to a store and hand-pick what you wanted in your box, which meant that no one ever had to put up with crappy coconut centers...

"You're going to have to climb down off that hobby horse someday."

Coconut is NOT a "cream center," no matter what Russell Stover says...

Christmas Movies & TV Shows

Original 1994 "one sheet" poster

Not long after I got divorced, I happened across a movie that became one my all-time Christmas favorites.

Released in March of 1994 (a sign that Touchstone Pictures didn't have much confidence in the film), The Ref quickly vanished from theaters due to lack of promotion. When I first saw it on cable TV somewhere near Christmas of 1996, though, I thought it was brilliant.

Directed by Ted Demme, the film stars Denis Leary as a burglar on the lam who takes a squabbling married couple played by Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey hostage on Christmas Eve while he plots his getaway from a failed job.


In the style of all great farces, events rapidly spin out of Leary's control, and in the end one of the more plausible happy endings I've ever seen takes place.

In addition to the principals, the rest of the star-studded cast does a marvelous job. The film was the big-screen debut for J.K. Simmons.

It is a rare film comedy that can make me laugh out loud even a few times. The Ref can still do it consistently throughout the movie, even though I've seen it many, many times. Watching it on Christmas Eve has been a tradition for me for nearly 20 years.

Highly recommended...

Approved!

For today's traditional game against the Black Knights of Army, the Navy Midshipmen will be wearing helmets featuring a variety of U.S. warships. Very cool move, Navy...

Until Next Time...

On December 12, 1915 Francis Albert Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. You could say he led a remarkable life.

Frank's biggest claim to fame, of course, is as a recording artist. Many people consider him to be the finest singer in the history of American popular music. I'm not part of that club, but he is undeniably a distinctive voice responsible for some of the most famous and beloved music ever recorded.

In the fall of 1957, Sinatra released A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra, his first full-length Christmas album. In addition to Sinatra's smooth vocals, the album featured arrangements of favorite Christmas songs by Gordon Jenkins (who also conducted the studio orchestra for the recordings). Sinatra was also backed by the Ralph Brewster Singers, who often recorded with Jenkins.



The album was his first release on Capitol Records that didn't make the top 5 on the Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at No. 18, but it continued to sell well for years after its initial release. It eventually became the first Sinatra album to receive a Platinum certification.

Among the various Christmas "standards" on the album was "I'll Be Home For Christmas," which had been a hit for Bing Crosby in 1943 (as the "B" side of "White Christmas"). Frank does wistful very well, and this recording takes full advantage of that skill. I've always been fond of Christmas songs with a tinge of melancholy, but this one never really hit home for me until the first time in my life that I wasn't able to get home to my family on Christmas. A blizzard kept me stuck in Wyoming one year, and ever since then this song is enough to put a lump in my throat...

Today's send-off celebrates Frank's 100th birthday with his rendition of the song paired with a Christmas-themed animation. Enjoy...