Around this time, a good number of years ago, I took the children to see Santa Claus. He was a very good Santa Claus. The white hair and beard were his own. He was just fat enough to be convincing, rather than ridiculous, and his chatter and ho-ho-hos sounded genuine. Then he blew it. (more…)
Franz von Defregger – Grace Before Meal (1875)
When I was growing up, we sat down to dinner every night as a family, even on those nights my father was late coming home from the office. And before the first fork was lifted, we said grace.
This sounds all peaceful and idyllic. In fact, as we knew four or five different blessings, there was always a skirmish beforehand as each one of us kids tried to be top dog and lead with our favorite. Or perhaps it wasn’t exactly our favorite, but the one that really irritated the sibling we wanted to annoy the most. (more…)