Christmas stories to warm the heart
A Christmas story, circa 2002: The sons of working-class Haitian immigrants wanted Hatch trucks for Christmas. They were all the rage that year, all over commercials, and though it wasn’t easy for parents doing custodial work in a Boston-area hospital, there were the trucks on Christmas.
So Jim and Rodman and their little brother played with those trucks for months. Racing up and down. “It was mayhem,” said the little brother. “After we got those, they were racing up a storm. It was a special time.”
The brothers were close in age; Jim just a year older than Rodman, and Rodman just two years older than the little brother. That year, playing with those trucks, “that was definitely a memorable Christmas for me,” said the little brother.
The brothers always had the same hobbies and interests. Starting with football. Jim became a four-year starter at Boston College. Rodman went on to play football at North Carolina State.
The little brother liked football, too. Fashioned himself a quarterback. But he just kept growing. Up to 6-foot-8 as a freshman. Then 6-10 as a sophomore. Finally, his high school coach convinced him football wasn’t his sport. The little brother still thinks about what kind of quarterback he could have been.
He didn’t follow his brothers’ footsteps, but things turned out fine for Nerlens Noel.
A Christmas story, 2018: The Rufener family loves football. And loves music. So it was no surprise the other day when the kids, while cleaning up the kitchen and passing the time by singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” brought a little football into the affair.
Gideon Rufener started rhyming words with the name of his favorite player, he grabbed a sheet of paper, and he and sister Kameron suddenly changed the lyrics to a Christmas classic.
Their dad heard their ditty, made a few suggestions to enhance the song, and soon enough, it was on Facebook, going viral.
The kids were so thrilled, they wrote another song about their hero.
And now, in a land where football reigns, there are two new Christmas classics. Baker the Touchdown Maker and Bengals Got Run Over by a Baker.
Yes, it appears that
this Christmas season, Cleveland has embraced Baker Mayfield.
A Christmas story, 2017:
He had been to Disney World as a kid. Neat place. Good time. But now he was back as a young man. On Christmas Day itself. “Most people I’ve ever seen in one place,” he said. “It was crazy, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Disney doesn’t release crowd figures, but outside estimates range from 120,000 to 150,000 on Christmas Day.
Our man was with his friends. The guys he’s grown close to and spent many a holiday with. They tried to ride rides, but the lines were hours long. “We only rode one and then kind of walked around and got out of there,” he said. Probably spent three or four hours in the park.
Not the best day to be at Disney. Not an idyllic Christmas. But that’s OK. That’s what you want when you play college football – busy on Christmas – and even in the Magic Kingdom, you have to save your legs, if you’re Dillon Stoner.
A Christmas story, 2013:
The kids came barreling out of the projects in East Dallas. They had seen the gifts and they had seen Santa Claus, and they knew what that meant.
The smiles on the kids’ faces resound to this day.
Our man was a high school sophomore, and his dad had said it was time to help the less fortunate. So off they went, with a friend dressed as Santa and loaded down with presents. The kids tried to jump on Santa as they got their gifts.
The sophomore would go back, both his junior and senior years. He hasn’t been able to go back since; college sports get in the way. But he wants to revive that Christmas tradition in Dallas when he’s through with university days.
“Giving back to other families … the less fortunate in Dallas,” he said. “That’s what reminds me of Christmas. Just making other people’s day. That’s the most joy you could get out of Christmas.”
Sounds like the right spirit was instilled early in Cam McGriff. Merry Christmas.