My first Christmas being married and oh talk about poor. I was laid off from the plant in February after being married in January and could not find a job for six months. When I found my next job, it paid less than one half of what I was making and to top matters off, we had to move to take the job.

The job, a local pizza place, did moderately well, just well enough to pay my bills, but nothing else. We were looking towards a grim Christmas with no tree, and maybe one present each. My co-workers were just kids, but we got along well as I was just a 23 years old myself. They understood my and my wife’s plight for the holidays. Christmas evening, the 24th, we just finished a modest supper when we heard, ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump. We lived in a second story apt in an older home and the noise got louder, ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump. A knock at the door, I opened it and there stood my young co-workers with a tree. They had chopped the tree down and dragged it to my house and each person had ‘borrowed’ some ornaments from their family tree.

My wife and I were deeply moved. The chatter of the kids made the house warm, my wife fixed popcorn for all as we decorated the tree. Looking back on my 57 Christmases, only a few stand out, this was one. The Spirit of Christmas was in my home that night. Angels were in my home disguised as teenagers. The Spirit of giving overcame any material greed that night. Merry Christmas my friends, merry Christmas.

BJ Cassady BJ.Cassady@af-group.com Guthrie, Oklahoma