This is old boys and I want to talk to you today about About Christmas, you know Christmas has changed a whole lot since I was growing up and And I finally come to the Understanding or that I'm gonna have to you know change some of my ways about Christmas because Oh Emily you know my girl she comes to me and she says daddy I'd like to have a sit and sitch for Christmas or have you bought me a Christmas present yet? And you know I wish I could get a new iPhone for Christmas and stuff like that and then people always Seeing me on the street and they'll say blow us up What are you gonna get for Christmas or are you expecting to get you know something something other you know for Christmas? And so this has really changed since I was growing up and and I guess I'm gonna have to change with it But when I was growing up see Kid Christmas was just for kids and so ever Christmas when we'd get a sack, you know and it would have Apple in it and orange and then some you know some hard candy and That was a whole lot of it You know and we'd get their them orange slices They'd put some of them in the sack and some of them gumdrops and give you them and then they would they give you these Mixed nuts, you know they had these what we used to call Hazel nuts and I don't know I think they've changed the name of them things. I think they call them Fieldbirds or something, but they used to call them Hazel nuts when I was growing up and then we got them the mama's and And had them things I ain't gonna tell you what we call them because we didn't know no better But they they're Brazil nuts is what they are and and we get them Brazil nuts and just a big sack of candy and nuts that way and Apple and orange and and we was tickled today.
I'm gonna tell you we'd set up on Christmas and eat that stuff Of course, we didn't get candy, you know regular like other people did We just got Chris candy on Christmas that way and so we was tickled a day up to get it And we just eat that candy and then and then that oranges and apples I used to think that you couldn't get oranges and apples except at Christmas now see they didn't have them for sale in the stores We just had little old country stores and they didn't have fruit in there You know, you couldn't get no oranges or apples or nothing like that And I thought they was just I thought it was something that just got ripe at Christmas That was what I thought when I was growing up now Like I was saying Christmas back then was just for kids and They always thought that once you got grilled that you know, they they didn't give you no Christmas presents Now if you worked for a man, you know like I worked Cut timber for this fella for two or three years and he used to give me a ham ever Christmas And he just would give me that ham. He'd say he didn't say it was you Christmas present exactly He just he just said you'll go up there and and get you ham and he had a bunch of them up there at the house And all of us at work for him, you know would would get the ham and then I remember one year I was working for this man. He was a farmer there and he growed cotton and and I was Well, I was sharecropping for him is what I was doing and so every year he used to give everybody a Piano whiskey he'd get you this Jack Daniels is what he would give him well. I never did drink none So I would always give mine to somebody else I just owe more name a Luther Sanders that worked with me and he liked that whiskey as matter of fact He liked it too good really, but I'd always give it to him to keep it from going to waste But other than that see the adults didn't give each other presents at all and if if you got a present From your kids it was something You know like that they made in school because they didn't have no money to spend on you They and so the only thing that they could give you was something that they had made in school that way and so I remember When Emily first started to school well, she sold me she got into class Emily was always pretty good at doing Stuff like that and so she made me these handkerchiefs that she'd that she had made up there at school and had got them for me And you know that I really did appreciate that that was it was just showed that she was thinking about me You know and that and that meant a whole lot to me, but Nowadays really the only thing that I get for Christmas is is something to eat something to put in my belly And and that's the stuff, you know that I really do like cuz see I never could cook to speak of I never could and It's if it hadn't been for old Flossy butts well me and Emily were to starve to death back when when my wife passed on, you know Well, I didn't know how to cook and Emily wasn't big enough to cook back then and so Flossy butts he kind of Dopted us and and took care of us that way, but Nowadays, of course Emily's a good cook and which he always fixes for me every Christmas is a one of them Pineapple upside down cakes and that is one of my favoriteest things in the world to get is one of them pineapple upside down cakes and she makes a great big and and I eat on that you know for Two or three days, of course, I eat too much of it cuz I really do like it and I don't never get it except at Christmas That's the only time that she ever makes that and because I know she's saving it for me Special because she knows that's what I like and so I eat way too much of it I mean last year I got plumb found her on that pineapple upside down cake and then oh Flossy butts she always brings me a big old Looks like a dis friend full of banana pudding and she she brings that after Christmas, you know She wakes till the pineapple upside down cake is gone and said then she brings me that big old pan of banana pudding And then I just I eat on that all all it take me a week to eat that old pan of banana pudding And I just think you know, I just think it's the best thing in the world that I ever had So that's what I get for Christmas and I'm plumb satisfied with that I wouldn't want nobody to buy me nothing because I don't you know, it means more if it's something that they make for you and if they fix it, you know, and you know that they went to some trouble that it it it means a lot to me it really doesn't and I remember one year old Jimmy Vanderstig, you know, he come down here and he said Lois he said I noticed that she car was missing and he said I'm gonna give you a tune up for your Christmas present And and I said why Jimmy Vanderstig I said I don't expect you to do that and he said well, I know you don't But he said I wanted to give you something and he said I know that you always you know Practical he said I know you always practical and you want something that you know would do you some good and he said I just wanted to let you know that that that you know that I hear something about you And he said I'm gonna do this to you up for you and it took him Oh, I don't know it maybe I are and he had that car running like a sewing machine before he got through with it and uh I said Jimmy let me pay you for that and boy it you know it he acted like it made him mad and he said I don't want no pay He said I told you I was giving you this for Christmas That's my Christmas present to you and so I told him I really did appreciate it and I did and I don't know You know, Jimmy always gives me something for Christmas But it always something that he can do for me You know that I that he knows that I would like so he don't go out and buy me some unless it's something He knows I need usually he'll try to do something some kind of show or something that uh makes makes a difference Well anyway, uh, I'm gonna have to change My ways about Christmas because it's changed since I was a since I was a boy and I know that and things can't stay the same I know that so I'm gonna have to change my My way of looking at stuff And see uh, oh, Emily she I told you she she come to him and said and she thought she was him She said I sure would like to get me a new iPhone And I said well, Emily do you need a iPhone?
And she said well need she said that is a strange word need And she said how do you decide if you need some she said now if you're hungry, you know, you need some food But she said, you know, if it's how do you separate wanton and needen? And uh, I stood there for a minute and I said well, you know, Emily you got me stuff there So I said you just have to wait till Christmas and see what you get that's all I can tell you But I went out the other day I had old uh, uh Old rascal white he he knows about them phones, you know, he uh he's one of the what they call uh Technical people and so he told me what to get and I want to burn about it And I'm gonna wrap it up for real good or get flossy butts to wrap it up and give it to her and and uh, you know I love doing stuff for Emily I'm I'm just glad that I've got it to do with I'm glad that I've made a little bit of money in my lifetime because I don't want nothing from myself and I'm just telling the truth I don't want nothing from myself except, you know, close to where and and food to eat But I sure am glad that I've got some stuff that I've got money where I can get stuff to give to other people because There are a lot of people ain't as well off as I am and I'm glad that I can have people so I look, you know forward to uh, give it to the church up here, you know, they have these projects where they try to help people and uh feed the people that need food and and I'm glad that I can that I can help them because That's all we own this world on this earth to do is to help other people And since I don't need nothing and don't want nothing all I have to do is worry about worrying about helping other people And I get the biggest kick out of it of anybody in the world just doing it for other people And I sure I'm looking forward to uh giving Emily that that iPhone But more than that, I'm looking forward to that fine apple upside down cake and that banana pudding