What’d You Get For Christmas?

“What’d you get for Christmas?” That used to be one of the most interesting questions asked of me in my young life. And while my answers never exactly matched up with my answers to a seasonally earlier question, “What are you going to get for Christmas,” I always got enough stuff that I could give a truthful answer without embarrassment.

I have a relative, about my age, who usually got about four times as much as I did, and it was hard not to be a little envious of his live pony, beautiful saddle and gear, all of his complete cowboy outfits and the real guitar, that to my knowledge, he never learned to play. And, by the way, I also don’t know what happened to the pony, although I remember seeing photos of my kinfolk, on it, decked out like Roy Rogers and with a satisfied, ‘look at me expression’ on his face.

I never hear the question, “What’d you get for Christmas,” that I don’t think about my teacher, Jeanne Bledsoe, and her asking all of her sixth graders at Perry Grammar School this timeless question when we returned to school after Christmas many years ago.

Get the sixth grade picture: Mary Sue Nunn sat in front of me (I always tried to sit near Mary Sue because she was funny and fun), and her answer was “a doll” which she described in great detail. I was next. I don’t remember my answer, but I know it was neither a live pony nor a real guitar. Then, the girl behind me gave her answer, which was “an engagement ring!” In the full interest of full disclosure, I must say that this young lady had probably been held-back a couple of years and could have been as much as 14 or 15 years old.

All of this brings me to Christmas 2013 and my desire to tell you some of the things I got for Christmas. Bear with me.

Let me start with my most appreciated gift (which is probably not a smart thing to say, lest I hurt another giver’s feelings – but it is the truth), which were five packs of Gillette Atra Plus blades. Yes, shaving blades. Let me elaborate.

Apparently, Gillette has stopped distributing and selling Atra Plus blades for its Atra Plus razor, which I assume it no longer produces. I have been using these Atra Plus blades and shaver for 25 years, or more, and was devastated by this turn of events – which I learned about when Janice reported “CVS no longer has these blades,” and which was confirmed by me when I visited Dollar General and unsuccessfully tried to find some.

Well, Janice’s sister, Jelene, went online and found some, and Janice got five packs for me. Five packs x 10 blades = 50 blades x 10 shaves per blade = 500 days or almost two years (well, actually closer to 1-1/2 years, but still good).

I know Gillette is trying to force me to buy a new razor, but I’m going to keep looking for Atra Plus blades, and with a little luck, I’ll never have to change my razor. What a great Christmas gift!

I also got five books: “America’s Goat Man,” “Don’t Fence Me In” (a biography of Lewis Grizzard), Bill Bryson’s “At Home,” “Don’t Quit Your Day Job,” and “The Southerner’s Handbook, A Guide to Living the Good Life.” All of these are good, and I’m already well into at least three of these.

I got a fishing reel (the nicest one I’ve ever owned) and a fishing log to go with it. Also, Vaseline (lip therapy), a box of wooden matches, three dress shirts and a casual shirt, a Diamond fire starter, two UGA (G) magnets, dental floss, two tie racks, “Post Cards from Perry” Books I and II edited by Ellie Loudermilk, chewing gum, cookies, candy, cake, peanuts, pecans, oranges, apples, pears, etc.

I also bought Janice and me and all four of our children each a very nice Bluebird birdhouse built and mounted on post by Perry’s Billy Gray. You’d do well to contact Billy and have him to build one (or more) for you.

Well, that’s about it, although I’m sure I left something out. So, when folks ask me “What’d you get for Christmas,” I can say, “Some razor blades and other nice things.” I know, it’s not a real, live pony, but I’d say it’s pretty good and more appropriate for me, now, than a Shetland pony would be. And, I’ll add, “I’m really blessed.”

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