Several years ago, I was living in New York and working for an airline, so I never got home to Alabama for Christmas—if, indeed, I got the day off. To a displaced Southerner, Christmas in New York can be rather a melancholy occasion, not because the scene is strange to one far from home, but because it is familiar: New York shoppers evince the same singleness of purpose as slow moving Southerners; Salvation Army bands and Christmas carols are alike the world over: at that time of year, New York streets shine wet with the same gentle farmer’s rain that soaks Alabama’s winter fields.

I missed Christmas away from home, I thought. What I really missed was a memory, an old memory of people long since gone, of my grandparents’ house bursting with cousins, smilax, and holly. I missed the sound of hunting boots, the sudden open-door gusts of chilly air that cut through the aroma of pine needles and oyster dressing. I missed my brother’s night-before-Christmas mask of rectitude and my father’s bumblebee bass humming “Joy to the World.”

Harper Lee: Christmas To Me

Source: wwnorton

39 Notes/ Hide

  1. apofile reblogged this from wwnorton
  2. kebebetsehaye reblogged this from wwnorton
  3. futurelonelycatlady reblogged this from wwnorton
  4. jeffreyweston reblogged this from wwnorton
  5. shakeandco reblogged this from wwnorton
  6. everythingisacasestudy reblogged this from wwnorton
  7. cleverpeopleparties reblogged this from wwnorton
  8. loverlylola reblogged this from wwnorton
  9. why-not-zoidberg reblogged this from wwnorton
  10. jazzyjean reblogged this from jimmyjosh
  11. sparetired reblogged this from wwnorton
  12. justsav reblogged this from wwnorton
  13. cfbwe reblogged this from wwnorton
  14. violashipwrecked reblogged this from wwnorton
  15. jimmyjosh reblogged this from wwnorton
  16. everythingisacasestudy reblogged this from wwnorton
  17. letgrillbegrill reblogged this from wwnorton
  18. acciomrdarcy reblogged this from wwnorton
  19. wwnorton posted this

Recent comments

Blog comments powered by Disqus