“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”
I think this statement by Norman Vincent Peale is perfect for Christmas. I look back to the years when I was a little kid. My cousin Jimmie, my brother Jackie and I were fortunate to get a tangerine in the toe of our Christmas stocking. That was such a treat. We knew that Santa liked cheese sandwiches so we left one for him before we went to bed. As I grew a little older, Santa left a big jar of Movie Star Cold Cream for me. I used so much of the cold cream, I practically slid out of bed with all the grease on my hands and face.
***
A late thank you: I must congratulate the staff and volunteers at the Leahy/Holloran Commmunity Center on the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner they gave to the senior citizens on Wednesday evening, Nov. 19. I understand, from Lisa Zinck, that Pat’s in Lower Mills donated all the delicious food. As we waited for the dinner, we kept ourselves very busy with a “Happy Thanksgiving” word-search puzzle and a “Thanksgiving” crossword puzzle that were printed on golden-colored paper, with a colorful turkey decorating each page. The Project DEEP kids and other youngsters delivered a plate of traditional Thanksgiving fare to each senior. Everyone loved the food.
There were so many people attending that I knew: Gerry Cardinal, Claire Linehan, Jean Buonopane, Marie Schallmo, Marilyn Ferrara, Dorothy Colombre, Eileen Collins, Norma Conley, Peg Gorham, Peg Canty, Carol Murphy, Mary Keeley, Barbara Sullivan, Pat Flynn, Pat Devilly, Irene Duff, Pat Moran, Caroline Innello, Dotty Burneika, Terry Moriarty, Terry Ryan, Jeanette Nephew, Mary Sullivan, Martha Gowette, Jim and Judy Farrell, Dolly Farquharson, Bob and Mary Jepsen, Eileen Burke, and Carolyn O’Connor. We sat with Loretta Philbrick, Mary Shea, and Mary McElhiney. All of us wished Fran Allen a “Happy Birthday.” “Peachy” Galvin was the first one to greet us as we walked into the “Murphy” Cafeteria, just as she has done other years. There was a ton of prizes for the group. We were fortunate to have an eighth- grader call the prize winners. His name was Robert Butts. He was wonderful. He spoke slowly, in a distinct voice. Bravo, Robert!
***
Hubby has been thrilled with the Christmas songs on Radio Station 106.7 FM. The most favorite Christmas songs are: “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby; “Rudolph,” by Gene Autry; 3, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” by Perry Como; “Little Drummer Boy,” by the Harry Simeone Chorale; “Silver Bells,”by Kate Smith; “Frosty, the Snowman,” by Gene Autry; “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts Roasting,”) by Nat King Cole; and “Jingle Bell Rock,” by Bobby Helms. My favorite “winter” song is “Sleigh Ride,” but only if played by the Boston Pops or sung by Johnny Mathis.
***
Last Saturday, Hubby, daughter Sue, and I drove up to Newburyport. We had to be there before 1 p.m. because that was the time that the Comcast office closed. We left at 10:45 a.m. because we couldn’t trust traffic. We practically sailed past the Zakim Bridge, slowed down a little in Chelsea and on Route 1, and then speeded up on Route 95. Speaking of Route 1, I must thank a lovely lady who was working at the Hess gas station across from the Square One Mall in Saugus earlier in the week. I was looking for a pay phone because we didn’t have a cell phone with us. There was no pay phone at the station, but she gave me her cell phone to use. I told her that I had to call my daughter and she was in Boston. She said, “go ahead.” I offered to pay for the call but she wouldn’t take any money.
We finally got to Newburyport and to the Comcast building. Sue had two of her late cousin Cheryl’s TV cable boxes to return. Sue told the clerk that Cheryl had died unexpectedly and that she was taking care of her affairs. The woman thanked her for turning in the boxes and Sue was back in the car in two minutes.
We had another reason to be in the Newburyport area on Saturday: Cheryl’s church, Unity on the [Merrimack] River in Amesbury, was going to have a memorial service for her later that afternoon. We had quite a bit of time to wait until the service, so we ended up eating at Wendy’s and going to KMart for a short time. We scouted out the church well before the service. Thank goodness Sue saw the direction sign to the church. The road goes up a hill by the river but the church itself is at the base of the hillside. We went up the road to turn around and turned onto a street near a pond. Sue and I got out of the car and saw quite a few white ducks in the water. It was a beautiful scene.
Then we decided we had better get back to the church. We were still early so we sat listening to WBZ Radio. When we entered the church, we were welcomed by several people and were asked to take a small jingle bell from a basket. “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his [or her] wings.” (That is from the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”) Daughter Jeanne joined us and the four of us sat in the second row. There was a beautiful photo of Cheryl on a table in front of us. A woman chaplain conducted the service. I had gone to the back of the church to ask if it would be okay to take photos of the service on Sue’s phone for Cheryl’s Mom, my sister-in law Valerie. “Of course you can; as a matter of fact, we are televising the service and are sending it directly to her Mom.” I was shocked that Val could see the service live.
Cheryl’s other aunts, Marlene and Meridyth, were sitting near the main aisle. We didn’t have a chance to speak with them until after the service. Son Paul and his wife Alex had driven up the road by the river and had not seen the “Unity” sign. (That was so easy to miss.) They came in a little later. The chaplain introduced a man who played a terrific guitar at the start and end of the service. The chaplain then introduced at least five women, members of the church, who knew Cheryl and spoke about her wonderful traits. I laughed because she was so much like our kids. She was so much like her aunts, also. I agreed with everything they said about Cheryl. She loved animals. As a matter of fact, Sue took an urn from Cheryl’s apartment because she couldn’t throw an urn into the trash. From the amount of ashes that everyone figured could fit into the urn, it was probably the ashes of an animal larger than a cat, most likely a dog. She had lots of photos of dogs. Cheryl was also praised by several of the speakers for helping them get through trying times. She was such a helpful member of the church, according to all of the speakers.
Near the end of the service, we were asked to stand and ring our little bells. We did so with gusto. Cheryl was gone from us. We were also asked to say a few words, if we wished, after we lit a candle. We put each candle in sand that was held in a large metal dish. Some of those who hadn’t spoken at the beginning of the service said a few words. Even our three kids got up and spoke about their cousin. Jeanne introduced her brother Paul and sister Sue and told them they were Cheryl’s first cousins. She said that she loved the stories about Cheryl and thanked everyone for coming. Sue remembered that Cheryl had called at the time of Hubby’s and my 70th birthday celebration. (We were born, days apart, in September.) We all thought that my brother Jackie and my sister-in-law Val would never be able to travel to Boston to join us. Neither was well. Cheryl called Sue and asked if her aunts Marlene and Meridyth could come in their places. Of course, Sue said, ”Yes.”
On the day of the party, at the Olde Irish Alehouse in Dedham, Cheryl came in. Her phone began to ring. She gave the phone to me and said, “My Dad wants to speak with you.” I asked Jackie if I could call him later. We were just welcoming everyone. As I spoke, I looked at the door and there were Jack and Val. They had driven all the way from Florida for our birthdays. Sue said she had the greatest photo of me in tears when they showed up. She said there were some more photos of Jackie with each of our cousins, having fun with them. Paul said he was glad that he took the photo of Cheryl and me near the end of our 50th anniversary celebration at the Fox and Hound Restaurant. It was a lovely one of Cheryl. It was used both at the memorial service in Amesbury and at her funeral in Port Charlotte.
After the service, the chaplain invited all of us to join everyone in an adjacent room where the church had provided coffee, sodas, and pastries. We had a chance to speak with the chaplain and several of the women who had spoken. Everyone was so pleased with the service. Val even called from Florida and was so happy that she was able to see the actual ceremony live.
On the way back home to Boston, Hubby, Sue, and I had smiles on our faces. The ceremony was so lovely and we learned so much about Cheryl. It was a loving tribute to her.
***
Here we are at Christmas. I have both Christmas and Hannukah cards sitting, un-addressed, on the table in the kitchen. Cheryl’s death put all the Christmas activities on hold. I hope still to send out the cards. “Better late than never.” Enjoy Christmas with your family. That’s our wish from all the McDonoughs.
