OK. I know this post isn’t about vintage postcards. However, the following poem made me smile, and distracted me from remembering what would never be there anymore – my Mom. She passed away the morning after this past Thanksgiving. I found it while cleaning out a closet in preparation for storing things from my Mom’s apartment.
I was in the US Navy assigned to VP-17 from ’85-’89. While on deployment one Christmas, the following was passed around. Enjoy.
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas,
Throughout the hanger we sat.
Launch the ready.
NO, not that.
Cody, was resting.
His P.Q.S. was all read.
With visions of hot dogs,
Dancing in his head.
Senior Chief in his office,
Amidst vids and maps.
Securing for Christmas?
Ivan just laughs.
Maintenance shops were secured;
All personnel, but one.
The rest of the squadron,
Was out having fun.
The aircraft were chained,
secured for the night.
They awaited tomorrow,
Looking forward to flight.
The duty office manned
by three needing rest.
As it neared midnight,
They weren’t at their best.
A strange sound from the line,
The chief leaps from his chair.
“I thought I heard sleigh bells”
He exclaimed, while others won’t dare.
The tower reported
A contact unknown.
Who could it be
Out there alone.
The heading was south.
The number now unclear.
As the blip approached us,
We all strained to hear.
Eight small, and one large,
The radar now read.
Looks of disbelief
Around the office they spread.
We threw down the phone.
Across the hanger we rushed.
Peering into the darkness,
All of us hushed.
We looked to the left.
We looked to the right.
The weather was grim,
No Santa tonight.
We returned to our office,
Leaned back in our chairs,
Turned on the TV,
And said, “Who cares”.
Sounds heard in the distance -
“Jingle Bells” in flight.
“Merry Christmas to all,
To all a good night”.
** Courtesy of Lt Dwayne Prince, Lt Scott Anderson, AW2 Vinny Williams, and At2 Barnie Race
Happy Holidays!
(To all my regular blog followers, I will soon be posting about vintage postcards and Victorian trade cards again. Life got REALLY busy, then Mom passed away. I needed this time off to rest/destress, and figure some other things out. Thank you for bearing with me.)
