As a child I started thinking about what I wanted for Christmas
around the Fourth of July. I reached a certain age where I was old
enough for my mother to take me to her friend’s houses when she went for
cocktails, but not old enough to stay home alone and trusted not to
wreck the place. It was during those visits to my mom’s friend’s homes
that I did my best Christmas dreaming.
My mom
was a recent widow and a lot of the neighbors seemed to make a special
effort to invite her over for scotch, cigarettes, and French onion soup
dip and chips. While the adults smoked and drank in the living room, I
was allowed to roam around the house at my leisure. Maybe I wasn’t
allowed, but it’s what I did.
Many of my mom’s
friends had children that were substantially older than me, and every
one of those teenager’s rooms was filled with wonder for an
eight-year-old boy. It was at Mamie Lee and Pete Jones’ house— while my
mom was visiting in the other room— that I first discovered Beatles
albums. The only Beatles music I had been exposed to at that time was a
45-single of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” a babysitter had given me
(certainly one of the greatest gifts I have ever received, and for no
occasion). In the Jones’ living room they had a record player that was
as large as a sideboard filled with records of the day. I never minded
going over to the Jones’ house because it was all Beatles all the time.
It
was at the Ferrell’s house that I was first turned on to the music of
The Who and Mad Magazines. If the house my mom visited to have cocktails
contained old, grandparent-aged people, there was usually nothing much
to discover, so I would play outside with their dog or one of the
neighbor’s dogs. Which, even still, was better than having to the beauty
parlor and sit in a chair while she and the other clients sat under
those hair dryer domes.
If my mother was going
to visit her friends the Dodders, I was probably in the front seat of
the old yellow Plymouth before she could walk out of our back door. The
Dodder house was an elementary-aged boy’s wonderland. Upstairs there
were three teenager’s rooms who were never at home, and I was free to
roam. Actually, I’m not sure if I was free to roam, but I roamed,
nonetheless. The first time I ever heard Led Zeppelin was in one of
those rooms. The album was Led Zeppelin III, and the song was “The
Immigrant Song” and it was the coolest thing I had ever heard.
Though
the zenith of childhood rummaging and snooping was in the Dodder’s den,
in a cabinet, under the television. That is where they always kept last
year’s Sears Christmas catalogue, appropriately titled, “The Wish
Book.” While the grown-ups were drinking and whopping it up in the
living room, I was in the den watching Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In and
thumbing through last season’s Sears Wish Book while dreaming of all the
things I wanted Santa to bring for Christmas.
It
could have been during the dog days of mid-summer in South Mississippi,
but I was studying last year’s catalogue, page by page, with a feverish
focus. That Christmas catalogue, which was issued every year, probably
only had a toy section 12-pages long, but that was toy central for an
eight-year-old kid whose main exposure to such fun-sized stuff was three
shelves at the Ben Franklin Five and Dime and two shelves at the drug
store next door.
My kids got the benefit of
Toys R Us. Today’s kids have a world of toys to dream about on the World
Wide Web. We had the Sears catalogue. There was all manner of things
for a young boy to dream about in that book, and I was always grateful
that the Dodders held on to the previous year’s issue.
We
never had a Sears Christmas catalogue at our house that I can remember.
I’m not sure why that was, and I’m just now realizing it. Also, I don’t
remember ever being gifting anything out of that catalogue. Though
Santa did leave a ventriloquist’s doll under the tree one year. It was a
little creepy and the string that was attached to his mouth from an
opening in the doll’s back broke after a few weeks, so the dummy ended
up doing a better job of keeping his lips still than I did while trying
to learn ventriloquism from the instructional album and booklet that was
enclosed.
What I really wanted was a minibike.
A couple of kids in the neighborhood had one and they seemed to have
much more freedom and fun than my Schwinn Stingray provided. The movie
“Easy Rider” had been released a year earlier and my friend Stan had a
poster of Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on his wall. I can remember
thinking if I could just get that Sears minibike, and a brown leather
jacket with the fringe (I desperately wanted one of those), and somehow
figure out how to grow sideburns and a moustache, I would be the coolest
guy in the neighborhood. None of that ever materialized.
Though
a year later I did order a set of fake sideburns out of the back of an
Archies comic book and wore them to school in the fourth grade. I got
sent to the principal’s office and he kept the sideburns.
These
days I don’t do a lot of Christmas dreaming. I mostly enjoy giving.
It’s way more fun. Though I still wouldn’t mind having one of those
brown suede fringe jackets
May all your Christmas dreams come true.
Onward.
Oyster
Dressing
1/4 cup Unsalted
Butter
2 ounces Andouille
Sausage, very small dice
3/4 cups Yellow
Onion, small dice
3/4 cups Celery,
small dice
2 Tbl Red
Bell Pepper, fine dice
1 tsp Garlic,
minced
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Poultry
Seasoning
1/2 tsp Black
Pepper, freshly ground
1 tsp Dried Sage
2 Tbl Parsley,
chopped
3 cups Chicken
Broth
3 Large
Eggs
2 cups Oysters,
shucked,
3 slices white bread, dried in a warm oven and crumbled
1 1/2 cups day old cornbread, crumbled
6 saltine crackers, crumbled
Preheat oven to 350.
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook
the sausage for 5-6 minutes. Add the onions and celery and cook for 5-10
minutes, stirring often to prevent browning. Add the red bell pepper, garlic,
salt, poultry seasoning, black pepper and sage. Continue cooking for 3 more
minutes.
Remove from the heat and place mixture in a large mixing
bowl. Add the chopped parsley, chicken stock and eggs and beat with a wire
whisk until well blended. Fold in the oysters, crumbled white bread, cornbread,
and crackers. Pour into 3 quart Pyrex baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and serve.
Yield: 8-10 servings
10 comments:
Thank you. I also remember circling things in those catalogues as a kid. Didn't get everything of course, but still fun to do so and dream.
Sears and JC Penney catalogs were my first glimpse of women in their undergarments!
This may be the best RSJ column yet.
I'm roughly the same age as RSJ...and can relate to 97 percent of everything he described.
I poured over the Sear catalogue every year, too. Like others, I didn't get everything I wanted but I always got something that kept me happy till at least New Year's Eve. Thinking back, books and art supplies always provided longer enjoyment than a new doll. Our stockings were always filled with a new toothbrush, jacks with the red rubber ball, a tube of pick-up sticks, packs of Crazy 8, Rooks and Old Maid playing cards, Black Cat firecrackers and smoke bombs for New Years, walnuts, oranges and candies. Thanks for the memories, Robert.
I'm going to make 2 skillets of cornbread tonight so I can make the dressing on Friday. A pan of oyster dressing for me and a pan of sausage dressing for husband. I use leftover dressing to make roasted stuffed mushrooms the next day.
Charming commentary as always.....simpler times for sure. Sigh.
Is there anything more boring that listening to a boomer opine about how good things were when they were young, before they fucked the entire planet up?
As a child visiting grandma’s house, the Sears Catalog was kept in the outdoor poop house and the “wishing” had nothing to do with Santa Claus.
Awesome story and one that brings back a lot of memories. We must be close to the same age. I was fortunate to have that mini bike (though used) and a fringed vest. Mini bike was confiscated by mom after badly crashing into her front shrubs and landscaping. It was then deemed to dangerous for an 11 year old! Thanks for sharing your personal stories. Those type are always the best!
Merry Christmas!
I have good memories of careful study of the Sears Christmas catalog. I would quickly thumb through the front half and get down to serious business when I reached the candy and nuts section, followed by the toys. So many of them to choose from!
Thanks for the memories, Robert.
Here are my contributions:
Almond Joy Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups chocolate chips
2 cups sweetened coconut
2 cups chopped almonds
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 375°F Lightly grease cookie sheets.
Combine dry ingredients, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stir in the vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients until well mixed then stir in the chocolate chips, coconut and almonds. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Andouille Rice-Stuffed Pork Loin
Ingredients:
1 4 1/2- to 5-pound boneless pork loin, trimmed and butterflied
Creole seasoning
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Andouille Rice, recipe follows
1 cup chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoon butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Lay pork loin on work surface and season with Creole seasoning, salt and pepper. Spread andouille rice evenly on top.
Roll up lengthwise and tie with kitchen string at 3-inch intervals. Place pork seam-side down in a lightly greased, shallow roasting pan and pour 1/2 cup water into pan. Brush outside of pork with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F and continue roasting until internal temperature registers 145 degrees F, about 45 minutes more. Remove to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil and let rest 10 minutes before slicing.
Skim fat from juices in roasting pan and place pan across 2 burners on stove over medium heat. Stir in broth; bring to a boil, scraping any browned bits from pan. Cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Whisk in butter and adjust seasonings.
Serve warm pan juices over roast.
Andouille Rice Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons AP flour
1 small bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped green bell peppers
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces andouille sausage, casing removed
1 cup rice
2 1/4 cups chicken stock or broth
1 tablespoons Lea & Perrins
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
Directions:
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, make a roux by combining the oil and flour. Stir constantly until the roux is the color of milk chocolate.
Add onions, bell peppers and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic. Cook 2 minutes more.
Add sausage. Cook, breaking up sausage with a potato masher or the side of a spoon, until browned, 4-6 minutes. Add rice and stir for five minutes to toast. Stir in stock, Lea & Perrins, parsley, thyme and cayenne pepper.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Merry Christmas!
Tonight I'm preparing KF's Egg Nog recipe.
It should be perfect by Christmas Day.
RSJ's Oyster Dressing would be a perfect side dish for Christmas dinner.
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