Tennessee Christmas, 2003

A Tender Tennessee Christmas

by Craig with editorial comments [in brackets] by Steve

[I'm sure there will be plenty said about this Christmas, but the lumberjack effort will stand out in my mind as the strongest memory. For those not present, you will have to quiz all the witnesses for the full details, but make sure to ask about the "quick" after-lunch felling of a few trees. You'll hear of the tree we cut down four times--it's still standing. Of course there is the three tree combo that didn't need felling--they came down anyway. Then there's the tree that had to be cut because it was threatening the house--it hit the house. Ask about Craig's amazing 100 yard dash holding a chainsaw and Dad's narrow escape from Craig's footprints. Find out from Jim what a falling tree looks like from ground level. Add all that to the appearance of the stunning Hooter's girl and the Grinch, and you have a very strange and wonderful Christmas indeed.]

We had ANOTHER TENDER TENNESSEE CHRISTMAS

Christmas day was a very special family gathering. We gathered together at Mom and Dad's in the Great Smoky Mountains. Granny, Lynelle and Jim and the boys, Steve and Kathy, Mom and Dad, Connie, Melissa, and I were all gathered around the chimney with care...I guess. The Kathy Grinch was especially dressed up this year and slid around delivering gifts to all. There was plenty to eat and many laughs of joy as the family got caught up with stories of the past. We all got a shock when the "Hooter Girl" showed up! I guess that Mom had been given a Hooter girl outfit from Steve and Kathy during a previous visit and so we got the "pleasure" (or something) of seeing her showing it off. I believe it was mostly laughs. It was a very Merry Christmas. [The presentation of the Hooter's uniform was made during the post-Thanksgiving gathering in Chicago as a joke from Kathy and I to Mom in response to their introducing us to the restaurant chain during our Tennessee visit in October.]

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