when i was a little girl, we lived in southern california. we lived across the street from the V family. the V family consisted of mr. and mrs. V and their 4 older children (older than my brother and i were anyway): an older daughter who had already left for college (and whose name i can't remember); kathy, a very talented artist, who encouraged me to draw and color and spent more time with a 7 year old than most highschool aged kids probably would; tim, the only son; and tori, the beautiful dancer. every chance i got, i ran over there. there were dogs, happy (the 13 year old basset hound whose only goal in life was to fly out the front door to freedom) and penelope, a cute black mutt, and tortoises in the yard and the closest i ever got to having older sisters. any holiday was special in the V house. mrs. V liked to decorate. my mom, not so much. at christmas, we always had a tree, a real one, fragrant with the scent of pine. and that was ok. but it was nothing like the V's tree. now that tree was magical. it was silver. and faker than the day is long. it was tall with a beautiful angel at the top, and it stood in a stand that rotated and played christmas carols. and it was covered almost to the point of overload with the most beautiful ornaments i had ever seen. AND TINSEL. we didn't have tinsel at my house, because it made a mess. but mrs. V loved tinsel. every christmas, i would spend hours laying on their living room sofa just watching the tree go around and around and around.
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rocky would like to wish you all a merry christmas .....
yes he would....
he really wants to....
see?
and so would i ....
be safe!
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