"Give a Little! Give a Lot!"
Sparkle Girl, who drew the kangaroos above, has been working on a “Christmas Timeline” for a school project. As part of her research, she had to ask people in her life for a memory that dates to about the time they were in fourth grade, the grade Sparkle Girl is in now.
My mother told her about going to her grandparents’ house on Christmas Day and seeing, under the tree, miniature figures skating on a little ice-skating rink made out of a mirror.
Wonderful smells were coming out of the kitchen, where her grandmother was fixing a feast. (My mother still vividly remembers the taste of those mashed potatoes.) No children were allowed into the kitchen while her grandmother was working, though, so it was torture being able to smell but not to sample.
My memory for Sparkle Girl goes back to the days when we lived in a small town in West Virginia. The Salvation Army had a collection booth set up in the street directly in front of Murphy’s five-and-dime, the main store on the block.
Different churches would take responsibility for manning it. When my father was in charge one night, he took me along. Being downtown at night was a big deal for me.
The booth had a loudspeaker and a list of jingles to read to encourage people to contribute.
Dad let me read the jingles over the loudspeaker.
My favorite was, “Give a little. Give a lot. Give to those who haven’t got.”
