If you have been reading some of my recent posts, you are probably aware that I have been talking about some of my exploits and experiences after being assigned to the Joint Interoperability Test Center (JITC) at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. I have been doing a whole series of posts about my exploits at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. I expect that series of posts to last for quite a while. And well, it is that time of year where we stop and reflect upon everything that has transpired. At the same time, my family and I would like to extend sincere holiday wishes to each and every one of you for peace and prosperity. We hope that you enjoy the holiday season and that every wish and every dream you have comes true. Of course, I have to share with you a Christmas story. This story is about the very first Christmas that my family and I spent at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. We had been living in base housing at Fort Huachuca for one full year after having spent the previous Christmas on the road traveling from Fort Lee, Virginia, to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. That first year at Fort Huachuca, we kept things rather simple. We had an artificial Christmas tree that stood five feet tall, when fully assembled. We used that tree for every Christmas that we spent in Korea. It had served us well, and we called it into action one more time. My children and I were in charge of trimming the tree and decorating the interior of the house. First, we took out the tree and organized all of the ornaments. Next, we assembled the artificial tree and spread the branches. I had my daughter and my son stretch out all of the strings of lights so that we could test them. I wanted to ensure that all of the lights worked before we hung them. Typically, we would string three sets of lights on that tree. We would start at the top and wrap the lights around the tree working our way down to the bottom. Once the lights were hung. Next, we would wrap Garland around the tree. Again, we would start at the top and work our way down, alternating colors. We use Garland rather than tinsel because we found that it was much easier to work with and less messy. Finally, we hung the ornaments. Again, we started at the top working our way down and around the tree. We put the smaller ornaments at the top and larger ones toward the bottom. Of course, the children each had ornaments that they made at school that they wanted to hang on the tree as well. After the tree was trimmed, we needed to place the angel on top of the tree. I had my children draw straws to see who would place the angel on top of the tree. My daughter won the draw. I had her get the step stool out of the storage closet in the carport so that she could climb up and place the angel on top of the tree. When the tree was fully decorated, I had the children hang the Christmas stockings. I instructed them where to hang the Christmas stockings but I didn’t tell them how. I had previously inserted hooks into the wall to make it easy for them. Of course they hung the stockings in me-first order. Just in case you’re not familiar with me-first order, that’s a case where the person to the first hook, hangs their stocking on that hook. Naturally, my son, Wright Junior, was the first one to the hooks. As a result, his stocking got hung first. My daughter hung her stocking on the second hook. And you guessed it, yours truly came in dead last. That’s not exactly the way I would hang them, but hey, they’re kids. What are you going to do? Since we had lights left over, I suggested that we string a couple sets of lights to the eaves of the house out front. The kids were all for that. So we put on our jackets, and we went outside. After we hung lights on the eaves of the house, we were finished with our decorating. As I normally did every year, I had taken a few days off from work to spend with the family during the holiday break. Most of the time, other than during the actual holidays, I went hunting during the late hunt in the nearby Huachuca Mountains. However, since my wife needed to do some shopping for Christmas, I agreed to entertain the kids and take them hiking. Of course, no adventure in the wilderness is ever complete until the master of disaster manages to hurt himself and cause a 9-1-1 emergency excursion to the hospital emergency room to be checked out. And our little hike was no exception. This time, we were fortunate that the emergency didn’t require stitches or a cast. No. Superman didn’t leap over a tall building in a single bound and break any bones. The master of disaster simply dived off the side of a little incline and sprained his ankle. Of course, I had to carry him the rest of the way home so that we could shuttle him to the emergency room to be checked out. But he lived. The holidays are always about spending time with your family and the happiness that you bring to your children. And it’s never any different with my children. When they open their presents on Christmas day, my wife and I can see the joy on their faces, and it was no different on that Christmas. We had spent the evening before at midnight mass because we wanted our children to know that Christian values come first. Then they get to open their presents as we celebrate the Christmas holiday. We celebrated our first Christmas at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, without any other exercises in futility.
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