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'Twas the night before Christmas & out on the ranch
The pond was froze over & so was the branch.
The snow was piled up belly-deep to a mule.
The kids were all home on vacation from school,
And happier young folks you never did see-
Just all sprawled around a-watchin' TV.
Then suddenly, some time around 8 o'clock,
There came a surprise that gave them a shock!
The power went off, the TV went dead!
When Grandpa came in from out in the shed
With an armload of wood, the house was all dark.
"Just what I expected," they heard him remark.
"Them power line wires must be down from the snow.
Seems sorter like times on the ranch long ago."
"I'll hunt up some candles," said Mom. "With their light,
And the fireplace, I reckon we'll make out all right."
The teen-agers all seemed enveloped in gloom.
Then Grandpa came back from a trip to his room,
Uncased his old fiddle & started to play
That old Christmas song about bells on a sleigh.
Mom started to sing, & 1st thing they knew
Both Pop & the kids were all singing it, too.
They sang Christmas carols, they sang "Holy Night,"
Their eyes all a-shine in the ruddy firelight.
They played some charades Mom recalled from her youth,
And Pop read a passage from God's Book of Truth.
They stayed up till midnight-and, would you believe,
The youngsters agreed 'twas a fine Christmas Eve.
Grandpa rose early, some time before dawn;
And when the kids wakened, the power was on..
"The power company sure got the line repaired quick,"
Said Grandpa - & no one suspected his trick.
Last night, for the sake of some old-fashioned fun,
He had pulled the main switch - the old Son-of-a-Gun!
-anonymous
2 comments:
What a wonderfull poem! Reminds me of stories my Gran used to tell of her youth! A MUCH SLOWER TIME when families REALLY spent time together!!
It really spoke to me!
Neither of my grandparents homes had running water when I was a kid. Although they did have electricity. My paternal grandmother's house wasn't wired for higher voltage, so she only used like 40watt bulbs in her very few lights. It was always a bit dim, much like lantern light.
Both cooked on wood stoves.
I used to love to visit them!
Baths were taken in a tin tub that was placed next to the kitchen stove so we could stay warm! As a kid that was so much fun!!!
And the food! Oh my! Nothing was ever as good as food cooked on a wood stove!
Christmas Eve we all gathered around to hear Grandpa read Luke Chapter 2 from the Bible [the Christmas story]. He had a beautiful baritone voice. I loved to hear him speak. But when he sang to us in German! I was in Heaven!
When I sing the old carols in German to my grandchildren I get all choked up remembering him!
Yes... it really was a special time!
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