The Curmudgeons’ Christmas
Jeff Davis | https://gundogcentral.com
Ben and Sam had rituals at Christmas time. They centered on friends less well-to-do than they.
First were the kitchen and wait staff at Millie’s Diner where they shared breakfast several mornings each week. They delivered $100 bills in plain white envelopes addressed to the staff members by name and given to Millie to hand out a week before Christmas Day so they could be used for further gifts for children, grands, or parents as most needed.
Next were gifts to the plantation pond keepers at the plantations where Ben and Sam fished for bream in March. Most were retired hunt staff members, and their gifts were mostly passed on to daughters or sons who were parents of grands in need.
Then there were gifts for nurses at the hospitals where Sam placed patients, also mostly bound for the ultimate needs of children or grands of the nurses.
Last but, not least were the gifts delivered Christmas Eve to the kennel keepers at several shooting plantations, men mostly retired from loftier jobs at the same plantations and like Ben and Sam far beyond a “normal” retirement age but wanting retirement less only than death.
For this Christmas Eve run the Curmudgeons drafted Pete-Bob Dix as chauffeur and rode in the back seat of Pete-Bob’s black Chevy Suburban, mostly used by Pete-Bob to carry potential buyers to see fancy properties Pete-Bob was selling. They had a fifth of The Macallan 16 with them and sipped it slowly with a little club soda in their plastic short glasses embossed with the logos of Harvard and University of Georgia.
Pete-Bob delivered them to their homes plenty early for Pete-Bob to drive on for Christmas Eve adventures of his own.
First were the kitchen and wait staff at Millie’s Diner where they shared breakfast several mornings each week. They delivered $100 bills in plain white envelopes addressed to the staff members by name and given to Millie to hand out a week before Christmas Day so they could be used for further gifts for children, grands, or parents as most needed.
Next were gifts to the plantation pond keepers at the plantations where Ben and Sam fished for bream in March. Most were retired hunt staff members, and their gifts were mostly passed on to daughters or sons who were parents of grands in need.
Then there were gifts for nurses at the hospitals where Sam placed patients, also mostly bound for the ultimate needs of children or grands of the nurses.
Last but, not least were the gifts delivered Christmas Eve to the kennel keepers at several shooting plantations, men mostly retired from loftier jobs at the same plantations and like Ben and Sam far beyond a “normal” retirement age but wanting retirement less only than death.
For this Christmas Eve run the Curmudgeons drafted Pete-Bob Dix as chauffeur and rode in the back seat of Pete-Bob’s black Chevy Suburban, mostly used by Pete-Bob to carry potential buyers to see fancy properties Pete-Bob was selling. They had a fifth of The Macallan 16 with them and sipped it slowly with a little club soda in their plastic short glasses embossed with the logos of Harvard and University of Georgia.
Pete-Bob delivered them to their homes plenty early for Pete-Bob to drive on for Christmas Eve adventures of his own.
About the Author : Tom Word
Visit authors website | View more articlesTom Word is a lawyer who represents individuals about managing their assets and for amusement writes fiction and non-fiction about bird dogs and humans obsessed with them.