In Search of...Fred?
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Who in the world is “Fred” and why is Frank searching for him this time of year?
Well…“Fred” is that often forgotten, yet pivotal character from the holiday classic “A Christmas Carol.” He is Ebenezer Scrooge’s loving nephew, a man so overflowing with “Christmas Spirit” that he actually invites the old grouch into his own home for Christmas Dinner every year (the only invitation, you’ll note, which Mr. Scrooge receives).
As the Christmas season comes around, so does our search for “Christmas Spirit.” Some days we feel like Fred and it washes over us in waves; other days it doesn’t come so easily.
This morning I opened my internet browser to read about a Nevada Assemblywoman’s Christmas card which featured a Ms. Fiori and her family sporting assault weapons and wearing tactical gear. Good grief.
Yet true Christmas Spirit does not come from “out there.” It’s not in the overwhelming deluge of images and sounds emanating from our various electronic devices every day. Nor is it found in thoughts of that greatest gift given or received, or the spectacles of light and sound of some Holiday pageant. I am talking about that warm reservoir of deep goodwill which we must rekindle for ourselves each year.
On December 1, such a Spirit flickers only at the edges of my memory. I turn over the calendar page and can’t really believe we’re here again already. Thoughts of Christmas Spirit only seem to dance away the more I try to focus on it. But I’m hearing music…just a few simple notes - it’s Schroeder in “A Charlie Brown Christmas!” Those distinct, plinking tones bring a smile to my face every time I hear them and they form a good start. And yet Christmas Spirit doesn’t arrive all at once. It’s too easy to get busy and before I know it I’m distracted again by some year-end business matter.
Cue now another kid’s classic: gruff shouts and the cracking whip of Yukon Cornelius! I’m seeing the Abominable Snowmonster and watching Rudolph’s red nose light the way for Santa. Memories of animated characters morph themselves into the songs which accompanied them and Burl Ives’ warm, rich voice chimes in. Such music brings on memories of my childhood so thick and immediate that I can almost touch them.
Once that music door has been cracked open, I’m all in. Our family hosted a party every Christmas Eve and the role of disc jockey fell to me. We had Christmas albums stacked high among the decorations, and I spun Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra all jazzing up the classics. These corny renditions lead me to the Christmas Spirit better than any map or compass.
The deeper I delve into music, the richer and fuller it gets for me. It is just not the Christmas Season unless I walk around with John Lennon’s “Happy Christmas” playing in my head for a day or so. This inevitably leads me to “Do they Know it's Christmas,” and from there I become so immersed and lost in the music that all I can do is sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
My musical journey takes me full circle, back to the world of animated Christmas memories and songs, back to Dr. Seuss and the Grinch. I’m talking old school here, the animated short, not the Jim Carey movie. The basso profundo “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch”(1) sets me up perfectly to watch the Grinch’s heart grow “three sizes that day.”
Finally I’m on to one of our family’s favorites, the “Muppet’s Christmas Carol.” When I hear Statler and Waldorf singing “Marley and Marley” I know the Christmas Spirit is upon me and I’ll be a grinning fool all the way to the New Year.
Having found my own Christmas Spirit, I welcome you to join me. Your own path will be different than mine, but I can surely recommend a few notes from the “Charlie Brown Christmas” to get you started.
My wife Beeb, our kids Kealan, Caitlin, Aran, Liam and I all hope you and yours find your own Spirit and have a wonderful Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a safe and happy New Year. See you in 2016! Frank C. Kilcoyne CSSC.
(1) Boris Karloff, right? Wrong! It turns out this memorable performance was sung by a gentleman named Thurl Ravenscroft who was inexplicably left out of the credits. If the voice sounds familiar, it may be that you recognize his other famous voiceover: “Tony the Tiger” of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes® fame! Source: Wikipedia, believe at your own risk!
