And It's Past Mother's Day Already!

Now is the time for planting that summer garden. Nearly 2 months ago, we declared Thursdays as Larry's "day off" from Books on First to work instead in the garden.  He ended up coming in to the store for one thing or another every Thursday until a couple of weeks ago.
 Mother's Day is the traditional bright line and this year was not the exception.  It went from overnight frost and 37°F to 82° today!

Now is also the time to get gifts of wise advice to graduates like Frida Gonzalez whose family owns and runs Salamandra, one of the many great restaurants you can find in Downtown Dixon.  Congratulations, Frida!

In Memoriam

Just briefly, we just want to remember two persons who passed yesterday.  They were both influential in developing Downtown Dixon. 

One was former Mayor James Burke.  As a life long resident and real estate agent he was a tireless supporter of Dixon and when he first ran for and was elected to office in 1999, many said that he just wanted to sell more real estate.  And our response, "And that's a bad thing?"  And, he was always trying to improve himself by reading and by discussing things with people around him.  Read about him on Sauk Valley News's website.

The other was Som Yindeeroop, who for years had been the chief chef and patriarch of the Touch of Thai here on First Street in Dixon.  Along with his wife, sons and daughter-in-law, Som worked hard to overcome people's apprehension of too-spicy food and raw fish.  He was key in having the Consul of Thailand who was based in Chicago and had a son attending Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, come visit and support a Thai Festival on this street in this town (Jim Burke was Mayor at the time).  He even showed others that a Thai cuisine restaurant with a sushi bar could be successful, resulting in the entry of a competitor coming to Dixon -- Bangkok Gardens on Galena Avenue.

We will miss both greatly.

Thank You, Thank You Very Much

There are lots of reasons why we as Books on First are happy to be here.  One of the best reason is the appreciation people have shown through public displays of affection and praise.

Here are two recent ones:

Bob Manson is travelling around the country, visiting independent bookstores, blogging and hoping to write a book about his travels.  Recently, he was at Books on First and spent a little time with Larry.  Larry said that a man just came in and without a word started taking photographs.  Later, they talked and posed together.  One thing I noticed about these photos posted on his blog and facebook is that except for the one with Larry and Bob together, they are devoid of people! Gee, that says a lot about how busy we were.  Check it out!

http://theindiebobspot.blogspot.com/2015/04/books-on-first-dixon-il.html

Former Dixon Main Street Director Philip LeFevre has been heard on WNIJ's Perspectives series several times with ideas that may or may not have legs, but his latest was on revitalized Downtown Dixon, in which he begins by saying:

It started about 16 years ago with the opening of an independent book store and cafe on a downtown street corner.  That started Downtown Dixon's transformation into the worlds of art and culture.

 All we can say, is, We're happy to be here.  And thank you, thank you very much.

.

Second Saturday in February + Valentine's Day = Oh, What a Night!

Oh, What a Night! If you are not fortunate enough to have a reservation at Orom or Touch of Thai or with Cody Miller McGinn at Ginkgo Tree Cafe or with Margie Wildman at Baker Street for Valentine's Day evening, you can still venue-hop during Downtown Dixon's February 2015 Second Saturday, from The Next Picture Show, which opens its Regional Art Show tonight to Crystal Cork for a glass of wine (or a special martini mix) and a view of photography by Brian Lutz.  There are lots of other sites with artwork on display including the Main Street Dixon office.  A full list is with Sauk Valley Telegraph.  For full-fledged live music, come to Books on First where Hitz City is playing.  Hitz City, a full-fledged blues band, has been here in the past with Queen Bee singing.  Unfortunately, Queen Bee has departed this life, but fortunately, Hitz City is still thriving and wanted to be with our crowd.  So, come down 7-9pm for the incredible presence and sound of Hitz City.  And, right down the street, Rosbrook Studio, Dixon's own not-for-profit performing art cooperative, has open mic beginning at 8pm.  A little further on First Street, Val's has The Beaux playing 8:30pm - 12M.

A little further afield, Books on First fav Trinadora -- Ron Holm and Janne Nelson joins local poet Christine Swanberg for a Valentine's Day concert about all sorts of loving, at Rockford's Just Goods.

Is this going to be a "Galentine's" Day outing to see the newly released film, Fifty Shades of Grey?  Come in for a copy of this title along with the other two in the trilogy: Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.

And, if you are interested in other titles made into movies coming out in 2015, we have them, also, like American Sniper, by (and about) Navy Seal Chris Kyle (whose killer has just pleaded not guilty for reasons of insanity), Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon, IndieNext Pick (2009) Still Alice by Lisa Genova, Testament of Youth -- a World War I memoir by Vera Brittain, or Nicholas Sparks's The Longest Ride.  The list can go on.  Check out Chapter 1's blog post and then, write us at chin@booksonfirst.com to reserve your copy.

Happy St Patrick's Day Look-Back

Himself & Wife

Grand Marshall, St Patrick's Day Parade, Dixon, IL  2007

Where's Waldo? Too

We are gearing up for our second annual Where's Waldo? challenge.  Twenty-five (25) businesses throughout Dixon, mostly in Downtown like Salamandra's Mexican Restaurant and Waterfront Gifts, but also including Distinctive Gardens on Lowell Park Road, will participate by hiding a miniature Waldo on their premises for children to find.  We thank you in advance for allowing people to tramp in and out of your establishment and hope these same people will take the time to look around and see what a great place you (and we!) have.  The "challenge" will be throughout the month of July and culminate in a party right here at Books on First on 31 July, with door prizes and real prizes for winners of a drawing of those participants who have found twenty or more Waldo standees.

We also are stocked up with all sorts of Where's Waldo books.  And, the first 100 kids who find and come in with proof (stamped passport) at least 10 of the 25 Waldos will receive a Waldo sticker and $1 coupon good for a Where's Waldo book at Books on First.  How can any kid aged 12 and under miss out on the fun?

Stories Most Fowl

When This American Life on Chicago's WBEZ (NPR) played a show containing segments or "acts" about an entire family who for years around Thanksgiving time tiptoed around a hand puppet duck by calling the main attraction at the holiday meal a "fish," and a turkey farm in which a girl, her sister and her father spent frantic minutes trying to save the family's livelihood from drowning themselves by raising their heads and opening their mouths to swallow the deluge of rain pouring down, I bet no one realized that some fourteen or fifteen years later, they would still be finding -- probably with little difficulty -- poultry stories to tell.  This year, as I listened to "Poultry Slam 2011" on the way from Chicago to Dixon (while everyone in a 40-mile radius of Downtown Dixon was enjoying its Christmas Walk), I could picture items we have sold at Books on First which made perfect complements to the acts.

For Act One, "Witness for the Barbecue-tion," I thought about Melissa & Doug's Tic-Tac-Toe game, wonderful for children, adults and chickens.  Sure, a tree was killed, but unlike paper, the game is re-usable and it sure beats having to find a pen or pencil.  Besides, I have never seen a chicken hold a pencil properly.

For Act Two, about a wild turkey terrorizing a Martha Vineyard neighborhood, I thought of all kinds of books, but the one that stuck is not about a turkey, but about a giant chicken.  A science experiment gone a little wild, Henrietta was just trying to play with the neighborhood kids, just like Tom Turkey who looked so cute playing hide-n-seek with the deliveryman who was scared "sh-tless" of the giant fowl.  Daniel Pinkwater's The Hoboken Chicken Emergency is a 33-year old classic.

I have to say, though, I don't understand the average person's skepticism about terrorizing turkeys.  What makes them so lovable that it's impossible to imagine them to be mean or nasty?  I was terrorized by one of our male turkeys who kept me from exiting my car after I arrived home from Chicago, jumped on my thigh and made me stave it off with a long walking staff that someone had made and presented to Larry.  Once, the cleaning lady called Larry from her car and apologized for not being able to go into the house to work, because the tom wouldn't let her out of her car.  Larry would not believe me until he saw the tom jump me.  When he came to scold the turkey, the tom started chasing him.  Even then, Larry hated to part with the turkey.  Normally, when a rooster attacked someone, especially a child, it went into the pot immediately for stock.  Our tom was way too old and big for that noble end; it was eventually given away to someone who either thought he could handle this turkey or did not believe it could be a bully.

For Act Three, "Latin Liver," about a natural way to raise geese with enormous livers for producing foie gras, I naturally thought of Mark Caro's The Foie Gras Wars, which begs the question: why are animal rights activist so focused on a slightly greater than 0% minority in the abused food animal world when there are so many other food animals being inhumanely bred, raised and slaughtered -- like those hogs in the confine just a mile from where we live.  Producers in Caro's book contend that the process of gavage, or force feeding, geese to grow their livers to massive proportions might look abusive, but really, the geese don't mind.

And then, there are the sharks who are left to fend for themselves after their fins are cut off for shark fin soup.  I love a well-made Chinese shark fin soup, but those horror stories of wildlife abuse have certainly led to a dearth of that offering in restaurants and at banquets.  I love liver made right, too.  In Paris, we bought a couple of jars of duck liver from a woman who had her own duck farm and sold the resulting foodstuffs out of a windowless little shop on the Ile de la citè.  It was fantastic (and probably not healthy for my liver), so I might imagine how heavenly true foie gras would be.

Dancing with the (Dixon) Stars

You remember Nichole Miller, the brave soul who attempted to spread the word of NIA to Dixon and environs?  She now has The Studio in Downtown Dixon.  NIA instruction is limited to a Wednesday morning class (and that now may have been deep-sixed due to lack of participation), but we continue to keep our fingers crossed.  Meanwhile, she and cohorts are offering Zumba, Swing Dance and Yoga.  In fact, on Friday nights now, The Studio presents Friday Night Social, featuring a different theme of music every week.  There's a half-hour lesson which begins at 7pm and then, it's an open dance until 10:30pm.  All for only $5 per person. 

Autumn By Any Other Name

From the Latin word for the season, autumnus which itself is "o.o.o. -- of obscure origin," per Eric Partridge. Partridge was known for his incredible research into all words English, including slang and bawdy Shakespeare. His work is still respected, and titles are available either reprinted or updated and sold at astronomical prices (e.g., The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (9th ed.) for $245.00 with no discount for bookseller).

We do know that Chaucer first introduced it as a name for the season the English called "Harvest," and I hear the word is still preferred by Brits over "Fall," which etymologists say comes from the "fall of leaves."  "Fall" is preferred by Americans and Canadians (or North Americans, as the Canadians so generously say).  I prefer, "Autumn," although I did like the wordplay of "Fall" as used in "The Four Seasons," the eponymous musical play about the singing group.  The seasons were used as headers for the chapters of the group's lifespan, beginning, of course, with Spring, to denote its verdant start, and Fall, denoting the beginning of the original group's demise.

On the morrow in Downtown Dixon is this year's Scarecrow Festival. This is its 15th year, and Books on First has been in the thick of it, mostly with scarecrows which look like Larry.  This year, he's upside down reading a book and sipping coffee through a straw! 
With the changing of leaves, harvest, pumpkins, cooler weather and scarecrows, how can anyone not like Autumn?

Check out Dixon's June Second Saturdays Street Fair

Dixon's official website has a great write-up on the exciting things happening tomorrow evening. See you tomorrow night!

Summertime and the Singing is Easy

Musical Fridays in Downtown Dixon for the summer begin again today with Kathy Cecchetti.  Check it out.
If you miss her today or even if you don't, Kathy and her band Acoustic Circus will be here tomorrow night at 7pm.  Join us for the best pass-the-hat live music in a coffeehouse atmosphere (not to mention surrounded by the books and Melissa & Doug toys) right here in Sauk Valley.

Music Tonight!

Do not miss this great treat!  Al and Jeannie Brown return – vocals, keyboard and stand-up bass sending up some great straight-ahead jazz (think Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Cole Porter, et al.).

See you at 7pm for Sauk Valley's best pass-the-hat live entertainment here in a coffeehouse atmosphere (not to mention surrounded by books and Melissa & Doug toys) at Books on First.

March Madness Week One

March came in not like a lion nor like a lamb, maybe like a goat, a kid goat almost a year old, smart, sassy, but somehow thinks she can plant her front hooves on your chest like a dog does paws.  Yes, if you're thinking I'm thinking of a specific kid, I am.  Her name is Mary, as she has been growing up with 5 lambs.  And, she follows Larry (and you if you'd like to come visit the farmette) all around.

For the second year, I am volunteering with LadderUp, an organization in Chicago, which assists those needing a little view over the shoulder or handholding with straight-forward financial issues, like filing tax returns and FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) for post-secondary education.  I thought such great experience might be useful in helping my own grandchildren, but apparently, Jack's mother has all that well in hand.  Financial aid is available not just for college (although that's one good place to be going, whether to a 2-year or 4-year school), but for beauty school, cooking school, electrical wiring programs, and more, because college is not for everyone, and colleges should go back to educating young people to think critically, not have expectations of graduating and earning more than their parents and disdaining blue collar work. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart spoke at LadderUp's third annual Leader's Breakfast this past November and thinks LadderUp should work in the jails, too, where he daily sees people who need some guidance to get back on their feet financially.  Hmm...    

On the storefront, we have an incredible line-up of live music on Saturday nights, including Couch Coins making its BoF debut on 5 March, and then,  Dan Hagemann returning on Downtown Dixon's Second Saturday.  Dan is the son of a local (Chana, IL) resident, although he himself now resides in Nashville, TN, and we are happy to have him come play when he is visiting home.  We have his newest album, "Before We Fade" for sale along with those of other local artists.  While a recording might be crystal clear, exciting and wonderfully reflective of what the artist wants to give to the listener, there is nothing like hearing music live, because the sense of community, the spontaneity and energy of the performer, the unique context of time and space, and more are just lost in translation upon recording.Second Saturday is officially from 6pm to 8pm, so be sure to take a stroll up and around to check out all the visual and performing artists and end up with us as Dan will be performing LIVE! until closing at 9pm.

Check out all our scheduled live events at our website: www.booksonfirst.com.

Happenings...

Good Monday Morning!!

This Saturday we'd like to welcome back the "Honorable Outlaws" playing their bluegrass/folk rock sound, to Books on First ~~ playing from 7-9 p.m. After you take your sweetie out for Valentines dinner, stop in for coffee and a brownie for dessert.

Don't let the previous snow fall stop you from shopping in Downtown Dixon. The street department did a wonderful job of cleaning our streets up.

This Saturday is "Second Saturday" in Dixon. Visit http://www.second-saturdays.com/ for more information.

Have a beautiful week!!

From your friends at:

-Books on First – Sauk Valley's Premier Bookstore/Coffeehouse
 202 West First Street
 Downtown Dixon, IL  61021
 815-285-BOOK (-2665)
 www.booksonfirst.com

Our Hours Are:
Mon-Thu 7am - 6pm
Fri            7am - 9pm
Sat          8am - 9pm
Sun        10am - 4pm

Dixon Main Street's Martini Gras!

Dixon Main Street's Annual Dinner, this year themed Martini Gras!, is just a week away on Saturday, 12 Feb at the Post House Ballroom.

The evening will begin at 6 pm with cocktails and will feature Dixon Main Street's Volunteer of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Cornerstone Award presentations, as well as New Orleans-inspired food and entertainment featuring fortune tellers and a caricature artist.

There will also a live auction with Kevin Considine on the mic, offering cakes, drink trays, a gift basket of Downtown Dixon goodies and Blackhawks tickets.

Tickets are just $35 per person or a table of 8 for $250. Don't miss this great event that supports Dixon Main Street!

Speaking of martinis, in our Humor section, check out Christie Mellor's The Three-Martini Family Vacation which follows The Three-Martini Playdate.

Snowbound

As Chicago emerges from its third deepest snowfall in recorded history with nearly 20 inches (1967 -- 23", 1999 -- 21") and 50 mph winds which caused major drifting (so, the snow was barely 3 inches high in some spots and 4 feet high in others), Books on First also emerges from one of the few days in its history to be closed unexpectedly, maybe the first.  Larry was snowbound in our Walton abode 12 miles south of Dixon and his favorite employee Brenda said she had a 4' drift right in front of her home.  I remember our first months on the job.  We were determined to be open.

On Saturday, 2 January 1999, we began at 5am driving back from Chicago in fierce wind and snowfall to arrive just after 8:30am to a fully "handled it" Dixon with mounds of snow in the middle of downtown streets (which I think makes perfect sense as it allows people still to get into driveways).  We opened our doors only 45 minutes late and proceeded to wait until around 10am for our first "customer" who was Michael, wanting a free glass of water.  At other times when two-lane Route 26 between Dixon and Walton was dangerous to travel (due to snow squalls and drifting), we stayed at Comfort Inn or Presidential Inn in order to be in town to open the store.

Now, we have a trusted employee in town, but we still would not ask her to take on more than she can handle (like getting through snow drifts).

Speaking of snow (were we?), Snow White Bakery has closed its retail doors, a sad loss for Downtown and all of Dixon.  I heard that owner Catherine Benon still will be baking to order, so try giving her a call.

To Respond to Readers' Comments

Thank you, Christopher G Moore, for taking the time to write!  And it looks to be a great 2011 for you.
We look forward to seeing the film debut and hope you'll be happy with the end result being a good reflection of your vision.  And, we will be sure to have Spirit House (as well as other Vincent Calvino) in stock.  Keep the action up (and almost needless to say, keep the allusions to past books down).

We also feel great about helping Steve Cousins find something on the internet and we thank him for taking the time to write and let us know.  We at Books on First try our darndest to share what we know and what we discover as we pursue those little curious paths of inquiry.

I have had many people personally thank us for the "kind words" we post.  We are happy to showcase all the wonderful features of Dixon which make it a great place to visit if not stay -- Books on First, of course, but also Second Saturdays, Reagan Days, Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza, Lowell Park, White Pines State Park, Crystal Cork, Touch of Thai, Distinctive Garden, and the list continues.  When I was younger, the State of Indiana had "Wander Indiana" on its license plates.  I always thought that it was a county in Indiana.  A classmate at Boston College (now Carroll) Graduate School of Business who is from Indiana clarified that this was a slogan thought up by a tourism bureau.  She said it would be changing to "Linger Indiana," to shift the thinking from driving aimlessly through Indiana to staying awhile in Indiana.  I don't know if she had been pulling my leg, but whether you wander into, linger in or just plain make this a destination sometime, Dixon is someplace you should consider.

Some of you may have noticed that these posts have become "fast breaks," as I consider them.  Yes, I am learning again to write better faster, just like when I was on the school newspaper in West Babylon.  One fortunate change that computers have wrought is the capability to change the article after publishing.  Why don't we learn and know more about who created the internet and the first word processing programs, like we (well, some of us oldsters) learned about Gutenberg and the invention of the movable press which changed the world from the 15th century onward.

December's Second Saturday and Adnascentia

This Saturday, Dec. 11 from 7-9 p.m., Todd Lorenc will be performing here with his new gig "Orange Doesn't Rhyme."  Todd was originally one-half of the duo Flying Fish.  Stop down and take a listen.

And, it'll be Second Saturday in Downtown Dixon, with lots of venues for visual and performing arts. More info is at the website at: http://www.second-saturdays.com/. Since most Second Saturday venues will finish by 8pm, remember that Books on First and Todd Lorenc will continue until 9pm, so come in for a cuppa, a sit-down and a great listen.

We still have a lot of names on our "Books for Babes" tree.  It means a lot to the kids to get a book or two at Christmas, so pick a name and make a child happy this year.

We have a great selection of gift ideas for that person on your list. Melissa & Doug toys are very popular for the young-uns on your list.  If we don't have it in stock... we can order, but hurry in, because who knows what that next popular item is!

At Books on First, games are not just for children.  Check out our wonderful puzzles from Pomegranate depicting artwork by Monet, Van Gogh, Charley Harper, Renoir and others.  When finished, they are suitable for gluing, shellacking and mounting (and giving!) if you are so inclined.  This would a different twist on giving a book that you have read and enjoyed so much.  And the whole family does not need to crowd into the kitchen (although it might take longer than baking a batch of cookies).  


If you want to skip the fun and go straight to some wonderful art at great prices from local artists, Second Saturday is key, so don't miss it.  Visiting Art at Books on First is another great place to view art by local artists as well as The Next Picture Show right down the street. 

I have not used the word I adopted in a long time,so I shall do so now.  

In this holiday season, get into the spirit of peace, love, joy, and service which can take you into the New Year and beyond, and may that spirit in you spread like adnascentia through each step you take and act you do and among all you touch, so that through each of us, we can live in and leave to future generations, a better world.

Much to Be Thankful For

Friends,

We hope your Thanksgiving Day was stupendous and you're are now not caught in any major snowstorms.  Here in Dixon, it is brrr cold and cloudy, but no precipitation.

As you go about your “Black Friday” and your “Cyber Monday,” remember that not only is “Small Business Saturday” sandwiched in between, but that Downtown Dixon remains a great place to be this and every weekend.

Tomorrow night, don’t miss Tracy Fleck & Second Breakfast with Jack Kelly, playing Americana music and bluegrass, beginning 7pm until closing (9pm).  Join us for Sauk Valley’s best pass-the-hat live entertainment in a coffeehouse setting.

Don’t forget that NEXT WEEKEND is Downtown Dixon’s Christmas Walk, with great goings-on on both Friday night and all-day Saturday (including  concert at Dixon Theatre).  For more information, go to Dixon Main Street's website (http://www.dixonil.com/mainstreet/) .

AND there’s December’s Second Saturday on 11 December.  There are sure to be lots of venues hosting great art.

We are still waiting on the tree from Distinctive Gardens, but Brenda has names & ages of deserving but less privileged boys & girls. Come in and help us through our Books for Babes program to give a gift that keeps giving.  We will take a portion of proceeds from all items bought through Books for Babes to buy mittens/gloves, hats and scarves for the children.

And for you and yours, we have so many great titles for giving and for getting you into the holiday mood, from Cookie Swap to Christmas in Illinois.

Hanukkah is but 5 days away and Christmas and Kwanzaa are right behind!

See you soon!

-Santa’s Helpers at

Books on First

Sauk Valley's Premier Bookstore/Coffeehouse

In the Heart of Downtown Dixon

202 W First Street

Dixon, IL  61021

815.285.BOOK (-2665)

815.285.2666 fax

chin@booksonfirst.com

All I Want For Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa... Is (Are?)

Peace, Love, Good Health and Good Cheer!

However, I hope that everyone else wants a printed bound book, or perhaps an audio for the drive to Grandma's.  The poem -- "Over the River and Through the Woods," which I had learned as a schoolchild in song form, is actually about Thanksgiving (more on that wonderful holiday in a different post).

Hanukkah this year begins early, right at the same time as Advent, and right before Downtown Dixon's 22nd Annual Christmas Walk, always on the first Friday of December.  In recent years there has been a split of opinion on whether Friday night or Saturday morning is the better time for celebrating Christmas, with Santa and chestnuts roasting on the open Weber grill.  It was traditionally a time for shopkeepers in Downtown Dixon to showcase wares for sale: gift-giving, decorating and partying ideas for the holidays.  Besides being a wonderful evening out (especially when the weather was lovely), it became a time for tweenies to let loose.  Their behaviour became a little difficult to deal with, especially with the proliferation of the aerosol string that seems so fun and so funny to that age group -- too old for sitting on Santa's lap or even following the parents around while they oooh and ahhh at decorations and previously mentioned wares, yet too young to wander too far away on their own.  So, the event in the last couple or so years has been a great compromise -- an 18- or 30-hour affair.  Books on First really gears up for the Friday night event, in which we sell a tremendous amount of hot chocolate.

Of what we don't sell a tremendous number are holiday titles, traditional like Over the River and Through the Woods or newer ones, like Lemony Snicket's The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming which bridges the Jewish/Christian/secular divide.  We do have an incredible selection, including Doctor Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas (which actually started life as a television special before becoming a book), Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol as a pop-up "paper engineered" by Bruce Fischer and In the Dark Streets Shineth, A 1941 Christmas Eve Story as told by David McCullough.

And to mention a favored audio: NPR's Holiday Favorites, a CD featuring David Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries" and other humorous and heartwarming pieces for the holidays (including Hanukkah and Kwanzaa).  This audio, however, does not have the formerly perennial holiday airing recorded by John Henry Faulks.  I would have liked to see a revival of the now politically incorrect rendering of “the wonderfulest Christmas in the United States of America.”  This is the opposite of "Over the River and Through the Woods," in that I have talked with someone who thought the story was told at Thanksgiving time, because she remembered the black and white families sharing dinner together.  I recalled (correctly this time) that this was a Christmas story, because I remembered the boy getting an orange from Santa and "stripey" candy.  I have not heard this aired in years, while she recalled hearing it just last year.  While not "PC," the story not only represents a tradition, but reflects America at a different time in our history, when we honestly talked about racial discrimination (government Christmas gifting maybe not available for colored folks) and poverty (maybe this was a family who doesn't have Christmas) and the glories of FDR's New Deal for which we Americans could be proud.  In this age of Tea Party ranting about "runaway government," but no one willing to share the hurt, all of this frankness certainly is no longer Politically Correct.