Christmas Carol Live
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I learned today that a production of Christmas Carol will be on stage here in Edenton. I hope I can see it. I remember the first time I ever “saw” Christmas Carol. My mother had read it to us, along with her version of a ghostly voice, but one year it came on TV. We walked to my grandma’s, two blocks on the snowy sidewalk, because she had a television. It was black and white, of course; a huge box with a little screen. It might have been on Ronald Reagan’s General Electric Theatre, but I’m not sure. It was past our bedtime, but it was special. I can still see my younger brother on his belly and elbows, my cousin Jo, sitting with her elbows on her knees, and a younger cousin lounging next to me, hugging me. Then she said, about Ebenezer, “Why’s he wearing that?” My brother said, “He probably didn’t know he would be on television.” The grown-ups laughed. I didn’t know why, but I felt embarrassed for my little brother and cousin, and have never forgotten that. (And I never laugh at children.)
Now, here I am again, with those same nagging questions. What would I do differently, if I could do Christmas Past again? Should I wear a different nightshirt and nightcap? Is there a ghost of Christmas Past that comes to haunt us at Christmas Present? Would that be a good thing? Would it make a difference in Christmas Future?
Being an absolute and forever fan of Christmas Carol, I’ll probably always ponder these things. But for now, I have some answers. We are all juxta positioned between Christmas Past and Christmas Future, while we abide in Christmas Present. There are so-called ghosts. We all have them; the memories. They do visit. Whether that visit changes anything is entirely up to us. We don’t get to glimpse Christmas Future, but based on what we know of Christmases past, we can make changes in the present, do things better, and it will define our future Christmases. A different nightshirt probably won’t matter.