The Magic of Christmas: Buffalo, NY 1958
Remember when you were a little boy or girl and to you the whole world was new…
…and…
…magic…
…was true.
Let me take you back to that time and place, I just ask of you this, suspend disbelief for 12-hundred words, believe elves make toys and reindeer can fly and that a fat man in a red suit fits down every chimney.
Believe.
It is the day after Thanksgiving, 1958, Buffalo, New York, I am six years old, I am riding on a bus, first time ever, my grandmother, Tess, is sitting next to me with her arm around my shoulder and she is whispering…
“…are you ready to see Santa…”
Um, yeah.
“…he’s waiting for you; do you have your Christmas list to show him…”
The list is pinned with a safety pin to the inside of my winter jacket.
“Right here Gram…”
We are travelling a few miles down Main Street, it snowed some that year, maybe a couple of inches, enough that I had to wear my “arctics” as Gram called the boots on my feet.
At every stop adults would get off and kids with Gram or Gramps, or both would get on, I could see the bus driver looking up into the mirror above the bus windshield, watch him smile and say, “Hey who here is going to see Santa today…”
And the bus would erupt in tiny voices.
“…and all you girls and boys been good this year.”
Not quite the eruption of voices but several “Uh-huh’s” and “yeps.”
And then the bus driver would laugh and start to hum a song I heard when my parents put a record on the record player in the living room this time of year.
“Bing Crosby…” my Gram whispered in my ear while nodding at the man driving the bus.
In a little bit suddenly from the front of the bus, “Santa stop, Santa stop…” and the bus came to a halt, both the front and the side door opened, everyone stood up, I followed my Gram up to the front and as we went by the bus driver I told him, “Thank you Bing Crosby…”and jumped down the steps into the snow of downtown Main Street.
Slowly the bus moved away and when I turned to look across the street I saw a huge building all lit up, it was the biggest building I had ever seen before, I remember looking up so high that snowflakes got in my eyes but when my head came down there in front of me was one whole block of big, BIG windows and through the crowd in front of the windows I could see, SEE…elves. ELVES…moving up and down.
Gram was holding my hand and when I looked up at her she was just standing there looking down at me smiling, “What do you think Donnie…”
I was speechless, I had never seen anything like it in my life. I just stood there looking at her, holding her hand, light snow falling, Christmas music coming from the huge building…
“…Donnie…come on we can cross the street now…”
And we did, and with every step the building got bigger, and with every step the Elves got closer, the Christmas music louder.
I never let go of Gram’s hand, she bent down some, as much as she could, took my hand and sort of brought me in closer to her, sort of talked, sort of whispered, “This is Winter Wonderland…”
I could sort of see behind her when she moved her arm enough to look through it and the space between her sleeve and coat to where a reindeer stood.
“…what do you think Donnie…what do you think…”
I couldn’t think, the reindeer just winked at me.
“…Donnie…it’s the best time of the year…”
Oh yeah, I’m starting to get that, the reindeer winked again.
“…Donnie…it’s a magical time of year.”
A M & A’s Department Store
Continued soon…