Christmases Past, I
Way back when I was a kid, one of the first Christmases I remember was at my grandmother's in Bakersfield. I must've been really young (and the only child there) because all I recollect was I slept in the kitchen because the house was full of relative sleeping everywhere, and I heard Santa Claus land on the roof--including lots of jingle bells ringing. The Christmases I remember best were at our home in Los Angeles. Even though most of those were during WWII when there were many shortages, we (my little sister and I) still managed to receive some wonderful gifts. I remember a beautiful Shirley Tempe doll with a China head (which I managed to break not too many days later.) My dad built a doll house out of an orange crate--though it was fixed up and didn't look like one, and my aunt made all the furnishings. No bicycles were for sale anywhere so my dad made one for me and another for my cousin who was close to my age. It looked and rode like any bike. When I could read, I ...