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8 | My Passion - Issue 4 - December 2015 Anna by Dakota Jones I have experienced two great loves in my life; my wife first of all, because if I didn’t mention her she would kill me, and Anna. My name is Greg Fitzgerald. I will be discrete about my age, but will hint that I’m old enough to receive a social security check in the mail. My memories of Anna though, take place a long time ago, when my hair wasn’t grey and it wasn’t as hard to take every morning for granted. I didn’t realize then that we are only given so many of them. Feature your book here today! my dad holding a big yellow dog by the collar. Mom was sneezing on the couch, which we later found out was due to a dander allergy. I was elated with joy. My very own dog! was a skinny northern boy that could sink in a bathtub. In January, Anna followed me to my neighbor’s house while I shoveled snow from their back deck for some extra money.They had a swimming pool that had been frozen over for over a month and appeared to be pretty safe to walk across. I was in the water before I took my fourth step onto the ice. The neighbors’ pool wasn’t that deep, but boy was it cold. I was frozen in fear and cold as my head went under the water.. A second splash broke the ice, and I hoped that my neighbors had seen me through their window and were coming to my rescue. But alas, it was my sloppy wet dog. She somehow managed to push me to the edge of the pool, and I was able to pull myself out. We both spent the next week in bed with the flu, but we were alive. I was twelve years old, and it was my favorite time of year. Snow was falling, the fireplace was roaring, and football was live on the radio. Christmas was in the air and Old Saint Nick was on his way. I was an only child, and my parents were well off enough to spoil me rotten for big events like Christmas and birthdays. They usually bought me model trains, cars, and airplanes. The year before, I even got a bike! One thing they couldn’t buy me though, were friends. I was a little bit more “reserved” than the rest of the kids my age, and because my dad was a part of the U.S. Army, I had moved into town from across the country in the middle of the school year. Needless to say, friends were slim pickings for me. That is, until Anna. Anna had the biggest brown eyes, and though there were many occasions that my dad called her stupid for stealing food off of the table or digging holes in the garden, I knew she could see right through me. Anna was the kind of dog that walked me to the school bus everyday, and returned later to walk me back home. She slept at the foot of my bed and kept all of the monsters out of my room. She even saved my life on a couple of occasions. Anna was a Labrador retriever, a natural born swimmer and athlete. I Anna was not the first good dog this kid ever had, but she was my best friend. Because of her go lucky nature, she enabled me to make friends with other kids my age. She was always on my heels, unless someone had food that she could beg for. I later found out that my parents had rescued her from the pound where she would have been put to sleep that Christmas morning so long ago. Instead, she became the best gift a twelve-year-old boy (without a friend) could have received. It may have seemed like we saved Anna’s life at first, but in more ways than one, she saved mine. I will never forget waking up on Christmas morning and walking out to the Christmas tree to find
‘Tis the Season to be Jolly… My Passion - Issue 4 - December 2015 | 9 Karla Dennis It’s the Holiday season for 2015!! Are you freaking out yet? Where did this year go? As soon as September comes, I am ready. I have my Fall decorations out, I have my Halloween decorations out, and my Christmas décor is just waiting to be unleashed! I love the holidays, but for you it may be different. You might honestly say, “I hate the holidays. There aren’t enough carols or funny holiday movies to make me jolly!” Let’s take Halloween for instance; what’s not to be jolly about a ton of free candy?! Well, it’s not a jolly holiday for the kids who can’t go, or for the kids too sick to go. We can’t leave out the problem of costumes. When I was growing up we had to make our costumes; nothing new and flashy for us. Who wants to Trick or Treat in some non-store bought costume? Then comes Thanksgiving; once again, how can a holiday that celebrates being thankful with a delicious turkey dinner not be jolly? It’s not jolly if this was the worst year you ever had, or maybe you lost someone close to you. It’s hard to celebrate with dinner if you don’t have any food. Which brings us to Christmas: one of the biggest holidays of the year. How can you not be jolly spending time with your family, giving and receiving gifts? It’s not so jolly without family or money to buy gifts. What a horrible holiday for any kid who wakes up with no gifts, or for you to wake up and the person you love is not with you. While I truly believe that the holidays are meant to be jolly, there is just so much in life that seems to dim or remove that joy for us. So, how do we get it back or find the jolliness again? I believe I have an answer for you! As a kid, there was one Christmas that looked to be horrible. I remember knowing, but not knowing, that this Christmas was going to be different. My parents didn’t have the money to do Christmas like usual. I will never forget the joy of waking up and having presents under the tree. Years later, we were told that some families generously donated presents to our family. I will never forget that Christmas! I am so thankful to the people who made that holiday jolly. Which brings me to my answer. When you are trying to make the holidays jolly for others, it somehow becomes jolly for you. I love the holidays because of what you can do for others. My life might be a mess and there may not be much to be happy about or worthy of celebration, but that doesn’t mean I can’t bring happiness and celebration to others. I am never jollier during the holiday season than when I am doing for others. So, maybe there is still hope for this season, let’s make it jolly. For Halloween, you can go to the children’s hospital with treats; or on Thanksgiving, you can provide dinner for a family who can’t afford it; and for Christmas, let’s buy gifts for kids and visit senior citizens. Let’s get lost in doing for others, because their joy will become your joy! ‘Tis the season to be jolly…
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