Blue Christmas

By Jim Hagarty
2012
My heart goes out to those facing their first Christmas without a parent or both parents. Guess what I did that first season whenever I heard Anne Murray singing Away in a Manger, my Mom’s favourite hymn by her favourite singer. My first Christmas without my mother. I was single with no children of my own at the time. I think those who are still unattached suffer those losses a little more, but that’s just an opinion. My parents still loom large in my life though they’ve been gone almost 30 years, and they are with me never so much as at Christmas even today. The reason that is so is they were my best friends. And, of course, whenever I want to be reminded of what they were like, I need only look across the room at our son and daughter. And when I hear Anne Murray singing Away in the Manger on the radio, I still tear up. I have tears in my eyes just writing this. And I am glad that I do.

Author: Jim Hagarty

I am a 72-year-old retired journalist, busy recovering from a lifelong career as an unretired journalist. This year marks a half century of my scratching out little fables about life. My interests include genealogy, humour and music. I live in a little blue shack in Canada and spend most of my time trying to stay out of trouble. I am not that good at it. I also spent years teaching journalism. Poor state of journalism today: My fault. I have a family I don't deserve, a dog that adores me, and two cars the junk yard refuses to accept. My prized possessions include my old guitar and a razor my Dad gave me when I was 14 and which I still use when I bother to shave. Oh, and my great-great-grandfather's blackthorn stick he brought from Ireland in the 1850s. I have only one opinion but it is a good one: People take too many showers.