Short, but not Sweet
Dec 15, 2007
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My tale is short, but not exactly sweet.
The time: probably the first winter after the end of the war, my brother and I still very young.
The problem: our lack of finances or "connections" for buying a Christmas tree.
The solution: my father’s uncanny ability to circumvent rules and regulations. He "procured" a beautiful little tree from the (protected) forest where he had found postwar employment.
The come-uppance: to keep the tree fresh until Christmas Eve, he left it overnight in a sheltered corner of our ground-floor balcony. Next morning it was gone - the subject of yet another "procurement."
Dénouement: I think we settled for some branches in a vase that year.
Barb Hurley
