miss martha's christmas

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Miss Martha’s

Christmas

by Ted Eldridge



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Miss M rth ’s ChristM

by Ted Eldridge

Christmas 2013

For

Amanda and Kate



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Miss Martha’s Christmas

by Ted Eldridge

Christmas 2013 “Ding. Dong.”

Martha closed the book she held in her hands, set it

on the table beside her chair, lifted her head, and

removed her reading glasses.

“Now, who could that be?” she asked out loud.

Molly, her wheat-colored terrier nestled at her feet

thumped her tail on the carpet.

Carefully bracing herself on the arms of the

overstuffed chair, Martha stood and reached for the

cane she had set against the table. Although a little

stiff, she pulled herself up and began the walk to the

door. “We’re not expecting anyone, Molly. This will

be a surprise visitor.”

A swoosh of cool air blew in the door when she

opened it. And, there between the screen door and

the inside door was the morning paper, as usual;

but, there was no one there. With her good foot,



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the package tightly to her with the other. Once

upright and on solid footing again, she took a step

back, let the screen door close, and pushed the

inside door shut with the side of her cane.

“There!” she said. “Molly, we have a surprise to

open.” Molly had stood up and stretched, walked

over to Martha and cocked her head. She was

sniffing the air around the box Martha held well up

and out of Molly’s reach. “Let’s see what it is, shall

we?” Martha asked. Molly’s tail swished back and

forth. She was as excited as Martha.

Accustomed to taking her time to cross a room while

carrying something and steadying herself with her

cane, Martha stepped toward the coffee table in

front of the old sofa in front of the bay window. She

set the package in the center of the low, oval table

and moved around it to sit on the couch. Molly

jumped up beside her and snuggled close to her leg,

watching the box intently.

Martha’s fingers were not as nimble as they used to

be. The old-fashioned letter opener she kept on the



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coffee table to open her mail would come in handy

to open this package. She slid the knife under the

packing tape and pulled it across the top of the box

until she could lift the two flaps.

“Why, look at that, Molly!” she laughed. “It’s a box

of shredded paper.” Molly stood up and leaned her

head on Martha’s knee to look into the box. The

confetti-like white paper completely covered the

inside of the box right to the top. Now that the box

was open, it was springing out over the sides.

Martha began to pull the paper out in clumps. She

caught sight of a blue envelope, reached in and

pulled it out. “For Martha” was written in big

letters. She looked at Molly. “It’s for us!” she said,

her face flushed with excitement. Molly looked at

her and panted.

Martha slid the opener under the sealed envelope

flap and pulled out a thick, white card. She read it

aloud to Molly, who sat down beside her again and

listened attentively.



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“Be very careful not to shake this until December 1st

.

But, on that day, and on every day after that through

December 25th

, shake this hard. But, shake it only

once each day. Merry Christmas!”

Martha looked up, trying to think of what the

message meant. “My goodness, Molly. It’s an early

Christmas present. But, what could it be? I guess

we’ll just have to dig deeper into this box and find

out. But, the message says I should be careful not to

shake whatever it is until December 1st

. Well, let’s

see…” She leaned over and reached under the coffee

table. She felt the little bag on the floor she kept

there. It held important things she might need while

sitting or napping on the sofa – a little notebook andpencil, an extra pair of reading glasses, some

individually wrapped peppermint candies, the keys

to the house, a few wadded up dollar bills, a couple

dog biscuits wrapped in cellophane so Molly

wouldn’t smell them, her cell phone, and the little

calendar with tear-off pages for each month that her

paper boy, Sam, brought with a paper at the end of

each year.



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Martha found the glasses, put them on and pulled

the calendar from the little bag. “Why, Molly, it’s

November 30th

already! Tomorrow is December 1st

.

How can we wait until then? This is almost too much

to bear!”

As she continued to remove more and more

shredded paper, Martha felt something hard and

round in the box. Slowly a glass ball emerged and,

when she had reached further, she found that it sat

on a black, wooden cube. The cube had a niche

carved out about two inches down in the top. The

glass ball sat perfectly in it.

Martha carefully lifted the base holding the glass ball

out of the box and set it gently on the coffee table

next to the box. The ball was filled with some kind of

heavy, clear liquid. In the bottom was what looked

like snow – pure, white, soft, delicate, tiny

snowflakes.

“Well,” Martha said. “Molly, this is a test of patience.

We are supposed to shake this hard… but, we have

to wait until tomorrow to do it. That won’t be easy.



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Aren’t you curious about what will happen?” Martha

looked over at Molly and scratched her ear as she

asked. Molly lifted her head from Martha’s knee,

hoping she would continue.

It took quite awhile for Martha to clean up the mess

of paper that now covered almost half of the couch.

Once she had put it all back in the box, she slid the

glass globe on the wooden base to the center of the

coffee table. It was already time for her to go to the

kitchen and start making her lunch.

________________________

The next morning, bright light streaming through the

blinds in her bedroom woke Martha. She was morealert than usual. It was the first of December, the

day she was to shake – just once – the globe sitting

on her coffee table in the living room.

Molly seemed to know it was an unusual morning.

She stayed especially close to Martha, following heras she got ready for the day. When Martha had

finished breakfast and set the dishes in her

dishwasher, she lifted her cane from the counter



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where she had perched it and began the walk into

the living room.

Once she had settled herself on the couch, Marthalooked at the globe in front of her. “I wonder what is

going to happen, Molly. Don’t you? We don’t have to

wait any longer to find out.” And, with that, she

reached out, took the globe tightly in her hands,

brought it toward her, and gave it a good, hard

shake. The snow in the bottom of the glass began to

swirl around in the liquid, filling the space more and

more until the sphere was completely white. It was a

real blizzard! Molly turned her head to one side and,

then, the other. Martha laughed. “What fun!” she

said. “It’s like a real snow storm right here in our

living room – and we don’t have to get bundled up

and go outside to enjoy it!”

Remembering the directions – that she was to shake

the glass ball only once each day – Martha set the

wildly circling snow shower back in the center of thecoffee table. And, she watched. And, Molly watched.



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Slowly… very slowly… the frenzy of snow flying

began to settle and objects began to appear. The

snow was showering down on something or

someplace – a miniature place with great detail and

beautiful colors.

Martha began to recognize things she could

describe. “Why, look, Molly! There are two little

girls. See them? Their snowsuits are so thick and

puffy and the girls are so little they look like bear

cubs with blonde hair streaming out the sides of

their stocking caps. And, there’s a man with them – a

man with dark hair and a dark beard covered with

snow. They are all standing on a driveway in front of

a little brown house. Each of them is leaning over,holding a snow shovel. The man has a big snow

shovel with a bright, red handle and scoop. The two

little girls each have a small version of the same

snow shovel. They’re clearing their driveway. And, it

looks as though they have a lot of work yet ahead of

them. There is a lot of snow piled there. It might

take them most of the day to clear that wide drive

and the sidewalks in front of their house.”



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Every now and then throughout the day Martha

would look again at the beautiful detail of the scene

of the man and the two little girls shoveling snow.

She smiled each time. She checked it just before

going to bed to see if there was any progress.

Nothing had changed, of course.

____________________________

The next morning, December 2nd

, when Martha gotout of bed she felt a spring in her step she hadn’t felt

for a long time. She began to hum as she put the

kettle on the stove for her breakfast tea. “We’ll see

how far those people got shoveling out while we

were sleeping, Molly,” she chuckled. Molly wagged

her tail and turned toward the living room.

Martha was so excited to shake up the globe and see

how differently the snow would land on the little

girls and the man in their driveway that she didn’t

bother putting her empty tea cup and saucer in the

dishwasher. She left them on the kitchen table,

walked into the living room, and sat down in front of



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the glass bowl. She picked it up and shook, shook,

shook it.

“What?!” she exclaimed when she set it back on thetable. “They’re gone! The little girls and the man

aren’t appearing as the snow settles. There’s

something different in the ball. It looks like a little

store. There’s a sign on the front that says,

‘Thackeray’s.’ Molly, William Makepeace Thackeray

was a great writer a long time ago. This must be a

bookstore. Oh, look. We can see inside.” Molly

cocked her head and barked at the snow globe.

“Sure enough, Molly. Look at all the aisles of stacks

of books – everywhere! People are sitting in chairs

and couches reading, some are browsing, others arestanding at the counter. Toward the back there are

brightly-colored, carpeted steps. That must be the

children’s section. Oh, Molly, there are the two little

girls who were shoveling snow in the globe

yesterday. They’re sitting on one of the steps with a

whole pile of books. And, there’s the dark-haired

man with the beard they were with yesterday -- and

a pretty, blonde-haired woman handing a book to



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him. They must be the little girls’ parents. They are

holding their heavy coats and hats and gloves. The

little girls have set theirs beside them on the floor.

They must be planning on being in the bookstore for

quite a long time today. I’ll bet they’re looking for

Christmas presents. Books make the best gifts.”

______________________________

On December 3rd

, the powerful shake of the globebrought a completely different scene into view. “Oh,

Molly, there are the little girls again. They must be

sisters.” Martha pointed out to Molly that the large

red felt banner she saw on a wall was called an

‘Advent Calendar.’ “On that green felt Christmas tree

someone in the family puts a little ornament or gift –

some surprise found in one of the small pockets

sewn into the red felt below the tree. An Advent

Calendar is put up before December so one item can

be put on the tree every day until Christmas, when

the tree is fully decorated. Look at that calendar.Each pocket has a number on it – from 1 to 25. The

little bulge in each pocket shows the surprise is still



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inside; but, the first three – one, two and three – are

flat. And, look on the tree. There is a little blue bird,

over there is a white snowflake, and one of the little

girls has one hand in the #3 pocket and, with the

other hand, is giving her sister something to put on

the tree. It looks like a little snowman.” Molly

wagged her tail.

____________________________

When the snow settled on a new scene the morning

of December 4th

, Martha clapped her hands with joy.

“They’re baking, Molly! The two little sisters and

their mother are in a kitchen that has a long counter.

There is s griddle set on the counter, a huge bowl of

white dough next to it, and the three bakers are all

wearing aprons. There is flour everywhere. One little

girl is rolling some of the dough into a ball, the other

has a rolling pin and is rolling one of the balls flat on

the counter, and the mother is using a flat stick to

flip a huge, flat, very thin pancake kind-of-thing onthe griddle. That must be what they’re baking with

the dough. Baking has always been one of my



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favorite things to do at Christmas time. You know, I

think they’re making lefse, a thin tortilla-like thing

made of potatoes. It is rolled up with butter on it.

Our Norwegian neighbors, the Rasmussens, make

lefse each Christmas season.” Molly walked to her

water bowl in the kitchen.

____________________________

Martha couldn’t wait until after breakfast to shakethe globe on the 5

th of December. She took her cup

of tea and muffin to the coffee table in the living

room. But, before she could sit down the doorbell

rang.

“Ding. Dong.”

It was Sam, Martha’s newspaper delivery boy.

“Mornin’ Miss Martha. I’m collecting for next

month’s papers.”

“Oh, Sam. I have the money over here by the sofa.

But, I have a surprise to share with you -- an earlyChristmas present I was given. Do you have just a

minute to come over and look?”



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turn, some are on their bellies racing down, some

are at the bottom starting to climb back up, and a

few are sprawled all over the place – they must have

wiped out! Oh, look! There are the two little girls

who were in the kitchen in the globe before you

shook it. They are in that little green toboggan at the

top of the hill. And, that must be their father – the

man with the dark beard and stocking cap. He’s

leaning down to give them the shove down the hill.This is so COOL! But, how did it change? How did a

kitchen turn into a sledding hill?”

Martha chuckled. “I have no idea,” she said. “I am

just as amazed as you are, Sam. But, isn’t it fun!”

“It sure is, Miss Martha,” Sam replied. “Could you

shake it again so we can see what will happen?”

“Well, Sam, the directions on a card that came with

this gift said it was to be shaken once -- and only

once -- each day until Christmas. So, I can’t shake it

again until tomorrow.”



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gift. I will be putting this in my account at the bank.

I’m saving for a new bike.”

“Good for you, Sam. I hope you can afford to buy itsoon. See you tomorrow, then?”

“You sure will, Miss Martha! Bye.” Sam was off to

the next house before Martha had fully closed the

door. “What a nice young man, Molly,” she said.

Molly scratched her neck with her back leg.

____________________________

Sam was right on time the next morning – December

6 – for the shaking of the glass globe. As Martha and

Sam watched the sledding hill disappear in another

blizzard, what came into view at the top of the globewas a tall blue spruce tree. And, while some of the

snow settled on its branches, the rest gradually fell

lower and exposed other shorter spruce trees all

around. A horse-drawn farm wagon appeared – one

with a number of families riding on it. There werethree men in brown, one-piece snowsuits with axes

in their hands, one chopping at the base of the big

spruce. Standing to one side were the two little girls



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and their father and mother – the pretty blond-

haired woman in a pink coat with gray fur around

the hood covering her head.

“Sam, they’ve picked out their Christmas tree at a

tree farm! There was a time not so long ago when

you could go into the country to a tree farm, ride a

hay wagon out through the trees, and pick the one

you wanted for your family Christmas tree. It would

be cut down for you, wrapped in twine and roped to

the top of your car to be taken home.”

“You mean they had real, live Christmas trees in

their houses?”

“We all did, Sam,” she said. “I’ll bet your parentsremember when they were children having a live,

cut tree in the house at Christmas.”

Sam wasn’t so sure. Molly growled softly.

“Sam, I know you have to get to school. But, this was

fun for me to have you here to share the new scenein the globe. If you want to come back to see what



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“Wow! Yes! I’d really like to give it a try,” he said.

Very carefully, Sam leaned over the table, cupped his

hands around the lower part of the globe, lifted it up

in front of him, and gave it a hearty shake. When he

gently set it back on the table, Martha exclaimed,

“Well, THAT should bring up an interesting scene,

Sam. I couldn’t shake it that hard. You are quite a

strong, young man.”

Sam blushed. Molly licked his hand.

What appeared out of the snow storm was a small

auditorium, a dark blue space with a wall of windows

in front that stretched from the floor to a high

ceiling. The room was filled with levels of seats. In

front of the wall of windows, on a dark blue-

carpeted floor were a grand piano and a line of

children standing very straight, facing the adults

sitting in the rows of seats.

“There are the two little girls again,” Sam noticed

right away.

“Oh, and look,” said Martha. “They are dressed for

Christmas – red and green plaid dresses and white



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blouses with little round collars, white tights and

black shoes. And, all the other boys and girls are

dressed in red or green sport coats or dresses. They

look like dolls.”

Sam was looking at the details. “I counted. There are

eleven of them. Most look older than the two sisters.

They couldn’t be more than four or six years old.”

“And, all of them are holding little, miniature violins.Look at how cute they are – elbows out holding their

bows across the strings. They must be presenting a

little Christmas concert. I can almost hear music…

Mississippi hotdog, Mississippi hotdog, Mississippi

hotdog, Mississippi hotdog. That’s what I used to

hear young children sing as they played the tune of

‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ on their violins. That’s

not exactly a Christmas song; but, I guess they had to

stick with simple songs when starting out so young.”

“I’ve spotted the parents. They’re sitting in the third

row,” Sam announced.

“So they are,” Martha said. Molly yawned and rolled

over on her side.



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rectangular sleeves, each a cover for a black box that

could be seen in one end. One of the little girls had

pulled one of the black boxes out of its cover. They

were both looking at the television screen, which

showed a stick-figure reindeer with a red nose and

some words too small to read. The writing on two of

the boxes near the little girls’ feet read: “A Charlie

Brown Christmas,” and “Frosty the Snowman.” The

box in the little girl’s hand read: “Elf.” On the couchsat the girls’ Dad holding another box which read,

“It’s a Wonderful Life.”

“Oh, Sam and Ben. I’ll bet you don’t even know what

they have there, do you?”

“They look like giant dominoes. But it would take the

whole floor in that room to play a game with them.”

Martha laughed. “Good guess, Sam. They do look

like dominoes. But, they were called

‘videocassettes.’ It was an old-fashioned way to

show a movie through a television screen. They were

like today’s DVDs.”



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Sam and Ben thought the videocassettes were

funny. They were so big and bulky. Molly got up and

walked into Martha’s bedroom for a nap.

_________________________

When the knock came on the door on December 9th

,

Martha was surprised to see not just Sam, and not

just Sam and Ben, but most of the children of the

neighborhood! Although she hadn’t expected acrowd, Martha was delighted.

She ushered all twelve young people into her living

room and assigned them spots on the carpeted floor

around the coffee table. Each one watched this

magical shaking that Sam had shared with themwould happen if they would come with him to Miss

Martha’s. As the snow descended after its f urious

swirling, they could first see rooftops of large homes,

then the gables and porches, the shrubbery and

lawns of a neighborhood. The houses all were

decorated with tiny strings of lights – some with

strings of many colors, some all twinkling clear, some

blinking, some seeming to move like around the



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marquee of a theater. The children crowded closer

to see all of the detail.

“Look, there’s a lit-up sleigh pulled by reindeer,” saidone.

“And, Santa’s sitting in the sleigh,” added another.

“There’s a lighted Frosty – the Snowman!” squealed

a third.

“And, look – on the snow-covered street there are

cars. Everyone seems to be lookin’ f or some lights.”

“Whoa,” said a fourth child, “see that long, dark red

van? Look in the windows. There is the family again

– the two little blonde girls and the mother and

father.”

There was much discussion about all the intricate

arrangements of lights on the homes in the

neighborhood.

When it was time to go, Martha told them all howmuch she had enjoyed their visit and invited them all

to come back to see what surprises were yet to be

revealed in the little crystal ball. “Thanks!” the all



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shouted. “We’ll be back for sure!” Molly heard them

and trotted back into the room to watch as they left.

_________________________

Just as they said they would, all of the children of the

neighborhood were back the next morning… as well

as the parents of two of the children. They had

heard, too, about the wonderful holiday gift Martha

had received, how the scene in the glass globechanged each day, how much fun it was to watch

what would appear, and how happy Martha was to

have visitors each morning.

When the ball was shaken on the tenth day of the

month, a large room with a wooden floor, highceilings and windows all along one side began to

appear. Snow was piled high outside the dark brick

building. Above the door where the two little girls

and their parents were just entering were the letters

“Y.M.C.A.”

In the toasty-warm room heated by radiators were

many people sitting at long tables covered with

white paper and plates filled with all sorts of holiday



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foods. There was turkey and ham, mashed potatoes

and candied sweet potatoes, cranberry relish and

red jell-o with bananas.

A couple of the older members of the group were

gathered in the hall outside the room around a little

table that had something on a platter that seemed

to jiggle – like a big, clear gummy bear in the shape

of a fish. “That must be ‘lutefisk,’ another traditional

Christmas food the Rasmussens talk about each year

-- fish soaked in lye, Molly, to preserve it. Ole and

Lena Rasmussen say it smells so bad only the most

hardy Scandinavians can stand to even be in the

same room with it!” Molly covered her face with her

paws.

At another set of tables were all kinds of desserts --

white-frosted cakes, pumpkin pies, fried pastries

sprinkled with powdered sugar and lots of decorated

cookies in shapes of stars, stockings, Santas,

snowmen and angels.

“What a feast! It’s a huge family reunion!” Ben

exclaimed.



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“And, look,” Sam noticed. “They’re all holding hands

– even between tables. And, their heads are

bowed.”

__________________________

December 11 brought even more neighbors. Whole

families piled into Martha’s living room. Some had to

stand to see what appeared in the special glass ball.

There were “oohs” and “aaahs” as everyone lookedat a whole cast of dancers on a stage in a darkened

auditorium. At the back center was an enormous

Christmas tree covered with shiny ornaments and

strings of twinkling lights. Toy soldiers and snow

fairies, an old man carving wood, and a beautiful,

young, dark-haired girl were in various positions of

movement. The young girl was holding a toy the

wood carver must have made. It was painted like a

soldier with an odd long part coming from its back

that was connected through the wood to the mouth

of the doll.



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“Oh,” one of Martha’s visitors called out, “there in

the audience are the two little girls we saw

yesterday.”

“Yes. They are in every scene every day, Martha said.

“They and their parents have come to watch the

holiday ballet.” Molly curled up in the only corner of

the room where people weren’t standing.

___________________________

On December 12 the group gathered at Martha’s

found two horses hitched to a black carriage with a

high canvas top. The two little girls huddled close

with their parents. It was dark all around. Thick quilts

were spread across their laps over their coats andhats and mittens and scarves. All four had red noses

from the cold of the night. The driver sat on a board

in front of the carriage and held a whip high in the

air.

“They’re going on an old-fashioned horse-and-buggyride for Christmas!” one of the boys observed. Molly

looked closely at the horses from where she sat by

Martha.



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_________________________

The next day, December 13, Sam’s teacher, his wife

and children joined those who met at Martha’s forthe morning ritual. Sam had told his class about the

phenomenon. There were more curious guests than

ever.

In the glass globe a cream-colored room appeared.

Tall windows across the front let in brilliant lightreflected off the snow outside. On one wall was a

fireplace with a roaring fire licking at logs and a long

line of stockings hung above. The ten people in the

room included the two little girls and two other girls

even younger, five grown-ups and one older lady.

They seemed to be a family. They sat in a circle of

chairs, a sofa and on the floor. Each was holding a

wrapped gift. A distinguished-looking man with

thinning blonde hair and a beard had just opened his

package and was holding up what had been wrapped

in paper. It was a book -- 50 Ways to Use a FruitCake -- and was open to a page that a third grader

among those in Martha’s living room bent closer to



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through during the night. But, that didn’t stop Sam’s

class. Every single member of the fifth grade was

standing in sixteen inches of snow in Martha’s front

yard when she came to the door. Their excitement

had built as they trudged from their homes through

the first big snow of the season to be at Martha’s on

time. They all took off their boots at the door and

left them on the porch so they wouldn’t leave a

mess on Martha’s floor. Knowing they would be cold

and wet, Martha had made hot chocolate that was

sets out with marshmallows on the dining room

table so each child could warm up before the globe

shaking.

What they saw was a beautiful, deep red, brick andstone church filled to overflowing on a dark night.

Some of the snow continued to swirl around the

building, making it a perfect winter scene. The pews

inside the church were packed so tightly everybody

was touching somebody on both sides. Some had to

stand. The little blonde sisters and their parents

must have gotten there early. They were sitting in

the fourth pew. Three rows of choir members were



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standing in the chancel in front of the pipe organ

with music in their hands. Every face glowed in every

pew from the candle each was holding. It was the

only light in the entire sanctuary of the church – and,

it was just enough. It was a magical, peaceful scene

that left the entire fifth grade hushed for a couple

minutes.

When their teacher said it was time to give those

outside an opportunity to come in, everyone

scurried to the door to find their boots and put on

their gloves, hats, scarves and heavy coats. Martha

thanked them for coming and stood near the door to

say an individual good-bye to each child. Sam waited

to be last and, when Martha thanked Sam, he gaveher a big hug. “Thank YOU!” he said, “ for becoming

a special friend. And, not just with me. Think about

how many new friends you have since you started

inviting people in to see the mysterious and

wonderful globe. You are becoming famous, Miss

Martha!” Both Martha and Sam beamed. Molly’s tail

wagged unusually fast.



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As he pushed on the screen door to leave, Sam

heard a thud and a cry of pain behind him. He turned

to see Martha lying on the floor. Molly had quickly

moved to be beside her.

“I’m okay,” Martha said. “I just turned my bad ankle.

I broke it when I was a little girl learning to ride a

bike. It never healed right. That’s why I’ve had to use

a cane most of my life. But, I’m all right. Sam, could

you just hand me my cane, please.”

Sam jumped to the floor to get the cane. He handed

it to Martha and moved around her to be able to

help her stand up.

But, when she tried to move her leg, she winced andgroaned. It hurt too much to stand. It was not all

right. And, it could be serious.

“Miss Martha, I think you need to have that checked

at the emergency room before you try to stand up

and walk,” Sam advised.Martha knew he was right. “Sam, in the little bag

under my coffee table you’ll find my cell phone. You



39

can just dial 9-1-1, if you don’t mind, and tell them

what has happened.”

The EMS ambulance was there in no time. Sam hadcalled his parents and gotten permission to

accompany Martha to the hospital.

Martha’s leg below the knee was badly bruised. She

had broken a bone in her foot, which the doctor

wrapped in a bulky, rubber shoe cast. She was toldto avoid putting weight on the leg for a few weeks,

to use the crutches she had been given and to take it

easy as she healed.

Out in the waiting room Sam had been watching

“Toy Story” on the big screen on the wall. He turned – and paled -- when he heard Martha call to him. He

hadn’t expected to see Martha brought out in a

wheel chair.

“It could have been much worse,” she said and

smiled at Sam when she noticed his concern. “It’sstandard operating procedure to bring every

released patient out in a wheel chair. Kinda scary,

huh?”



40

“Yeah,” Sam nodded. “But, I’m glad you’re all right.”

Sam’s dad came to pick them up and take Martha

home. She was very grateful. And, she insisted thatthe morning shaking of the crystal ball would still

take place the next day. “So, pass the word, Sam. I

hope to have a good crowd of observers at my

house.”

_________________________

For the first time, the group that gathered that next

morning, December 15, saw Martha dressed in

something other than a nice dress. She had decided

she would just spend the day in her nightgown and a

heavy, corduroy robe. When they arrived, thevisitors found a note on the door: “I’m moving a

little more slowly right now. Please come on in when

you read this.”

And, that’s what they did. All 43 of the children, their

parents, and a few neighbors who had just heardabout Martha’s strange and fascinating gift came on

in. Curiosity was drawing more and more people.



41

The room warmed up quickly with so many bodies.

Molly had to run a maze between people’s legs to

find her spot on the sofa right next to Martha. Sam

sat on the other side of her.

“I think Sam’s dad should shake the globe this

morning,” Martha announced. “He came to the

rescue of Sam and me at the hospital yesterday and

gave me a ride home.”

Sam’s dad made his way through those in front of

him, held the glass ball high up in the air so all could

see, and gave it a round of brisk shakes. The snow

swirled and swirled as everyone looked up to see

what would appear. Slowly the heads of eight people

came into view. They were seated close together at

an oval table. The youngest was in a high chair. The

small dining room just barely held this family and all

the food on the table, especially since a decorated

Christmas tree was in one corner. Of the group, the

older woman who had made all the food was jumping up from her seat, turning toward the closed



42

swinging door to the kitchen. A thin layer of smoke

spread into the dining room over the door.

“Oh, no!” said one of the neighbors. “There’s a firein the kitchen.”

“I’ll bet it’s something that was left in the stove a

little too long,” Martha said. “That happened to me

more than once over the years.”

Other parents nodded, remembering similar

experiences. “Let’s see. What’s not on the table yet

that you’d expect with a Christmas dinner?”

someone asked.

Everyone joined in identifying what was on the

plates and platters and in the bowls: a turkey;stuffing; cranberry sauce; mashed potatoes; sweet

potatoes covered with melted marshmallows; peas;

corn; lima beans; a relish plate with cut celery,

carrots and olives; gravy; salt and pepper in shakers;

two lit candles in a centerpiece of greens… and abutter plate.



43

“That’s it!” said a little girl with glasses who lived

down the street. “I know what’s missing… And, it’s

not the two little blonde girls. See them sitting

across from the kitchen door at the table? What’s

missing? You put butter on your mashed potatoes…

b-u-t… you also put butter on your… dinner rolls!

DINNER ROLLS are missing! And, I’ll bet they are

burning up right now in the oven in the kitchen.”

“She’s right!” everyone agreed.

“And, that’s why the hostess is getting up to go in

the kitchen. She forgot the dinner rolls!”

Everyone laughed. Ben’s mother chuckled, “Every

family has traditions that become stories told overand over. I’ll bet this family tells the “burned rolls”

story every year.”

________________________

The globe brought smiles and knowing glances to the

faces of all the adults and excited giggles to theyounger children at Martha’s house when the glass

ball was shaken on December 16. The two little girls



44

were in their bunk beds under criss-crossed bright

yellow, green, blue and red stripes on their white

quilts. A little night light plugged into an outlet

reflected the bright yellow of their bedroom walls. It

was a cheery room. The shades were pulled at the

windows. Outside was the man with the dark hair

and beard – their dad. He was jumping up in the air

like a maniac, excitedly shaking a long row of bells –

the kind put on sleighs pulled by horses whenfamilies in olden times went out in the snow to visit

friends at Christmas time -- the same bells as those

Santa Claus has on his sleigh when he goes out to

deliver gifts to all the girls and boys. The children in

Martha’s living room looked especially close at thereaction the two little girls had when they heard the

bells. The one in the top bunk had covered her

whole head with her quilt. She didn’t seem to want

to have anything to do with this Santa sleigh bells

idea. It meant this strange elf with the long, white

beard in a red and white suit was way too close. The

eyes of the younger sister in the lower bunk were



45

peeping out from under her quilt. She couldn’t resist

trying to see if it were Santa flying by her bedroom.

The fifth graders and younger brothers and sisters inMartha’s living room that morning looked at each

other to guess what each would do if he or she

heard sleigh bells outside the bedroom windows

while going to sleep. Molly’s ears perked up and she

looked out the window when she heard another dog

bark.

_________________________

In addition to all the others who had become regular

visitors, on December 17 two vans parked in the

street in front of Martha’s house. Out stepped 24residents of the local senior living community.

Martha had thought about old friends who now lived

there – people who might enjoy the surprise and

excitement of Christmas that the glass globe was

creating for so many others.

The others waiting in Martha’s yard stepped aside to

let these older visitors have the first look at the new

figures and structures and details they would see in



46

the ball. There were so many waiting they had to

enter in shifts. And, only the first group – these

newcomers – would watch the snow fly before it

settled. They gathered as close as possible to the

snow globe, put on their reading glasses, and leaned

down to see what would be found.

The shimmering flakes filled the sphere as Christina

shook it. When she set it down on the table,

everyone first noticed the top of a tall Christmas tree

– the tallest they had ever seen in a living room –

and the red, green and black plaid bow made of

starched ribbon that crowned the tree.

“What an interesting and different way to top the

Christmas tree,” a woman who used to play Bridge

with Martha said.

Beside the tree was a balcony rail, which gave a

sense of just how tall the tree was. The balcony was

on the second floor of the house. The living room

ceiling was two stories high… and, the tree reached

almost to the top! More and more of the tree

became visible as the snow lay around it. The two



47

little girls and their parents were hanging ornaments

on the tree, already covered with hundreds of tiny,

sparkling, clear lights. One of the little girls hung a

little brass trumpet on a branch; the other found a

spot for a little blue, fluffy “Oscar the Grouch;” their

mother reached to place a golden snowflake; and

their dad was around the back of the tree where

they couldn’t see him – hiding a green pickle

ornament.

“Oh, that’s an old German custom my family used to

keep each year,” Mrs. Schneider, Martha’s next-door

neighbor, said. “Children visiting a home during

Christmas were to try to find the pickle hidden

among the Christmas tree’s green needles and

branches. The first to discover it was given a little

Christmas gift.”

When the older observers felt they had found and

identified every detail of the decorated Christmas

tree in the globe, they thanked Martha and returnedto their vans. A couple had lingered to catch up with

Martha – they hadn’t seen one another in a long



49

“Why, no! I didn’t know that!” Martha exclaimed in

surprise. “I wonder if I would be a candidate for such

a procedure at my age?”

“You are the perfect candidate, Miss Martha,” Ben’s

dad said. “Age has nothing to do with it. You are in

perfect health other than the ankle. The surgery

would not take long, you would wear a cast like the

one you already have, and you would need to move

about on crutches for a period – something else you

are already doing.”

“Why, that would be wonderful!” Martha said. “I

can’t believe it. It would be like a miracle… after all

these years to be able to walk normally. It’s really

possible, you think?”

“Not only is it possible, but, as chief of surgery at the

hospital, I’ve tentatively reserved a date. But, only if

you are sure you want to go through with this.”

“Just tell me when. I’ll be there with bells on…Christmas bells!”



50

“Well, that would be appropriate,” Ben’s dad

continued, “because the one slow time of the year is

just before Christmas. Most don’t want to schedule

surgery and be in the hospital at this time of year if it

can be avoided. The date that was open is December

24, the day before Christmas. And, it would mean

you would have to be in the hospital on Christmas

Day.”

“Let’s do it!” Martha said with no hesitation. “This

will be the greatest Christmas gift I have ever

received. And, I’ll have a whole staff of nurses and

doctors at a Christmas dinner we’ll eat out… in my

hospital room!” Molly jumped up and ran around

the living room in circles.

Everyone laughed at that. Details were discussed

and, by the time Sam, Ben and his dad left, all

arrangements had been made.

Martha sat in a daze the rest of the morning,

thinking about how different her life would be after

the surgery. And, she thought about how something



51

so simple as a snow globe could so drastically change

everything.

___________________________

The crowd gathered at Martha’s the next day had to

enter in four shifts to see what turned out to be

another dinner scene. The two little girls and their

parents were there, of course, but this time they

were seated around an oval table in their ownhouse. Their names were sewn in big letters on

stockings hung above the fireplace. There were a

total of nine people – five adults and four children.

“See the gifts across the room and the paper they

were wrapped in strewn around the floor. I’ll betthese people have gotten together, they exchanged

Christmas gifts and now they’re having a Christmas

season meal together,” said one of Martha’s

neighbors.

“I think you’re right,” said another.And, then, Sam, who had bent way down close to

the globe, began to laugh. “You’ll have to make a



52

line and come this close one-by-one, but you’ve

gotta see this! Look for the little dark-haired girl in

the high chair at the table. Everyone else is talking.

But, she’s leaning over. She fell asleep and her face

fell into her mashed potatoes. HA! Nobody at the

table has noticed yet!”

“It’s December 18th

,” Martha said. “I’ll bet by

Christmas everybody in town will have heard about

THIS scene!” Before they left every one of the day’s

guests saw what Sam had described. And, everyone

left not only in a jovial mood – chuckling – but with a

story to tell that would bring a smile to others.

Molly lay asleep with her head on the afghan on the

end of the couch.

___________________________

On December 19, the first knock at Martha’s door

was not Sam or Ben or a neighbor or even senior

citizens piling out of vans. They were a reporter and

photographer from the local newspaper. Martha

assumed Ben, her paper boy, had mentioned the

crystal ball phenomenon and they were interested.



53

But, she was wrong. Ben hadn’t had to say a word at

the newspaper office. It seemed everyone in town

now knew about “Miss Martha’s Magnificent

Magical Memory ball.” And, the crowd outside was

larger than ever.

Of course, Miss Martha warmly welcomed the

newsmen into her living room, where they stood at

the back to watch and listen and take a few

photographs as the visitors paraded in and out to

see today’s magic.

They all saw a very different and beautiful display in

an outdoor setting. It was a long street, lined with

homes and an occasional tree in a yard. Snow

covered the ground. The snow plow had turned up

little banks of snow along the curb earlier in the day.

Shoveled driveways and sidewalks were bordered by

what looked to be a foot of light snow. It was dusk,

just dark enough to see what the neighbors up and

down the street had done. The two little girls andtheir dad were kneeling down in the snow by the

street at the end of their property with two paper



54

bags the younger of the little sisters was holding, a

bag of sand and two candles the older sister

clutched, and a box of matches their dad carried.

“Luminarias,” one of Sam’s classmates called out.

“They’re setting up luminarias! It’s a custom in the

Southwest, something we did when we lived in

Santa Fe, New Mexico.”

And, they were. These were the last two to beplaced by the street, three feet apart. When the

sand was placed in the open paper bag to hold it

down and open, a candle was placed in the sand, it

was lit, and a glow was produced through the paper

bag. In this near-darkness the entire street on both

sides was lined with the softly lit rectangles of paper.

Those who visited Martha’s that day were left with a

lasting memory of the peace and light of the

Christmas season and an idea that this could be

done throughout their village in future years.

The photographer and writer stayed after everyone

else had left, interviewed Martha, Sam, Ben, and a



56

Sprawled on couches, chairs, the long hearth and the

floor were the little girls and their extended family –

aunts, uncles, cousins, and a grandma. Each was

looking toward the girls’ father, who was reading

from a list of questions. The one Martha’s guests

could read through the glass asked, “Who can name

all eight of Santa’s reindeer, not including Rudolph?”

This was written under a title – “Aunt Maude

Games.”

On the red table cloth on the dining table was a

woven basket filled with little packages all wrapped

in colored paper and tied up with ribbon. The red

and green and gold ribbons streamed from the gifts

out of the basket and onto the floor. Those in theroom had little piles of small items they had found at

the end of a ribbon they had pulled when they had

correctly answered one of the questions. One had a

bar of soap and a ruler, another a little notebook, a

box of Kleenex and some Tic-Tacs. A third had two

flashlight batteries, a PEZ dispenser, a small bottle of

mouthwash, and a little yellow rubber ducky. Molly



57

sat up and kept her eyes on the little yellow rubber

ducky.

Each group who came through that day took longerthan usual to look closely at all that filled this scene

of a special family holiday tradition.

____________________________

School was out for winter vacation on December

21st, so even more children came to visit Martha. It

was the winter solstice, the day of the year with the

fewest hours of sunlight. It seemed like people were

streaming through Martha’s house to see the globe

most of the day. The ladies of her church group were

there, a group of carolers from the Rotary Clubserenaded people in the yard, even a fire truck

pulled up in front of Martha’s house, extended its

long ladder into the sky and Santa Claus himself

climbed to the top and waved to all those waiting in

the yards around Martha’s. Molly barked when she

saw Santa Claus.

Everyone who came in that day saw in the glass

sphere the family of four with the two little girls



58

sitting with their parents at their dining table. Two

red candles on the green tablecloth cast the only

light in the room. There were bowls and platters of

chicken divan, cranberry relish, carrots, mashed

potatoes, corn and peas in the center, place settings

for the four, and a little candleholder with a small

white candle beside each plate. The girls’ dad had lit

his candle and was holding it up near his older

daughter sitting next to him. She had picked up hercandle and had it leaning toward that of her dad,

picking up the flame on the wick.

“I’ll bet the mother will light her candle from that

daughter’s and, then, the younger daughter will light

hers from her mother’s candle. And, there will be

more light,” said one of the senior citizens who had

come in one of the vans again today.

“And, if they are keeping the custom my family has

always kept, as they light their own candle each

makes a Christmas wish,” another added.

____________________________



60

More difficult to make out was the letter her dad

was writing as the younger daughter told him what

she wanted to say:

“Santa, What I really, really,

really, really want for Christmas is a puppy.

But, if you can’t find one,

I’ll like anything you leave for me.

I love you.

Kate”

_________________________

Christmas was getting close now. There were only

two days before everyone would be celebrating with

family, visiting friends, attending church candlelightservices, eating Christmas dinners and, of course,

opening Christmas presents. Molly would be

chewing on a new bone.

And, as the scene came into view on the 23rd

of

December, it was obvious in the globe, too, thatChristmas was only hours away. The two little girls

had finished their letters to Santa and set them on

the fireplace hearth. Each was now placing a plate by



64

And, as strong as she was, and with physical therapy

every day, he predicted she would be walking

unassisted within a month or six weeks. It would be

as though she never had a problem with that ankle.

Martha thanked him and began to talk of all the

things she wanted to do that had been impossible

since she was a little girl. “I’ll walk to church on

Sunday. I’ll walk to the grocery store. I’ll start an

exercise program and walk three miles a day. Maybe

I’ll walk across the country… or walk the Great Wall

of China!”

_______________________

Christmas day dawned crisp, clear and bright.Through her hospital window, Martha watched the

sun rise and noticed that another few inches of snow

had accumulated during the night. She thought

about how fun it would be to walk in the snow and

knew that this year she would have the chance to do

just that.



65

After Martha’s breakfast tray was taken from her

room, a nurse stopped in and asked Martha if she

felt up to having visitors.

“Of course,” Martha replied. “If anyone asks, please

have them come right in.”

The nurse went to the door and motioned to some

already waiting down the hall. They were Sam and

his parents.

“Oh, Sam, it’s so good to see you,” Martha said. “It

was so nice for you to come by – and, on Christmas

morning!”

“I wanted to deliver your paper, Miss Martha,” Sam

said. Under his arm he had a newspaper rolled up ashe did every morning. “But, before you read it, If it’s

all right, some other visitors would like to join us.

Would that be okay?”

“Absolutely, Sam. I’d welcome any of the hundreds

of friends I’ve made since the wonderful glass globewas left on my porch the beginning of the month.”



66

“Well, THAT’S good, Miss Martha,” Sam’s mother

said. “Because there is quite a stir in the lobby, on

the elevators and in the hall. Can you hear the

voices?”

“I do hear a lot of commotion in the hall,” Martha

said.

Just at that moment the first wave of visitors

entered the room -- the neighborhood children, theirparents and brothers and sisters. The room was

completely filled with people. Martha was pleased.

Then, Ben and his mother made their way through

the crowd. Ben put on the end of the bed a huge

present wrapped in paper with Christmas trees anddog bones on it. He ripped off the paper and, to

Martha’s delight, it was Molly in her little crate.

Molly had joined the party. She wagged her tail.

Those who were in the room could hear a clamoring

outside in the hall again. “I’m afraid we areoverwhelmed with visitors,” the nurse said. The

elevators just opened and the hall is completely

filled with people from the senior residential



67

community, the elevators are already clogged again

with friends from your church, the lobby is packed

with people from all over town, and the parking lot is

a disaster area! They are piping closed circuit

television throughout the hospital, into the parking

lot on a giant screen and at the City Auditorium for

all of those who can’t get here to wish you well. This

is the biggest event I’ve ever seen in our city!”

The crowd then parted as a tall man in a physician’s

white coat made his way into the room and toward

Martha’s bed. It was Ben’s father, Martha’s surgeon.

He was holding Martha’s glass globe very carefully

and moved very slowly. “I didn’t want to shake up

the snow,” he said. “I’ve never gone so far so slowly

in my life. But, I knew you were to shake this only

once each day, Miss Martha, and I didn’t want to

ruin your Christmas Day shake!” Everyone laughed.

Martha wiped a tear from her eye. “I can’t believe

anyone has ever had such a joyous Christmas,” shesaid. “How can I ever thank you all?”

One of the children shouted, “Shake the globe!”



68

“Yes, shake the globe,” another joined in.

A chant started – “Shake the globe! Shake the globe!

Shake the globe!”

The voices echoed down the hall to the elevators.

Everyone was chanting, “Shake the globe!”

It wasn’t long before Martha could hear from

outside her hospital windows, “Shake the globe!

Miss Martha, shake the globe!” All those standing in

the parking lot were looking up to Martha’s windows

shouting “Shake the globe!”

“Well,” Martha finally said. “I guess we have no

alternative but to shake the globe.”

Another round of laughter was followed by

“Hurrahs!” and “Hoorays!”

And, then, Martha raised her hand to get everyone’s

attention. The room suddenly got quiet. “Dr., would

you do the honors today? And, would you walk over

to the window to shake the globe so everyone in the

room and everyone outside can see you do it?”



69

“Yes, Ma’am,” Ben’s dad said. “I would be honored

to do the honors!” Those by the end of Martha’s bed

squeezed back against others as Ben’s father made

his way around and to the windows, holding the

glass ball higher and higher as he went. He

cautiously stepped toward the window and held the

globe steady, never moving the snow inside the

globe as he walked. When he was in a position

where all inside and outside could see him and theglobe was high above his head, he gave it a mighty

shake.

The snow shimmered and spun and whirled and

blew around. Such a snowstorm had never been

seen. Everyone was spellbound as they watched theblizzard. And, they watched… And, they watched.

The snow wasn’t settling. It continued to swirl just as

fast as when Ben’s dad had shaken the crystal ball.

And, as it continued it began to cast light out and

into the room. It turned and turned and grew

brighter until it was almost too bright to look at

directly. The light filled the room and could be seen

out in the hall. Even with lights on in the room In



70

broad daylight the light coming from the globe was

brighter.

One of the orderlies who had stepped in to seeasked, “What direction is that light coming from?”

“Why it’s East,” Martha said. “I watched the sunrise

in the East through my windows there this morning.”

A little girl somewhere in the crowd suddenly burst

out, saying, “It’s the star in the East. The star in the

East the Wise Men followed to find the baby Jesus in

the Bible story!” The room grew quiet for a moment

as everyone marveled at the possibility. Even Molly

sat perfectly still looking at the light.

_________________________

It was at least an interesting coincidence, one that

was included each time the story was told of that

day in Martha’s hospital room. And, it was told and

re-told time after time after time, especially during

the Christmas season, by all of those friends andneighbors and senior citizens and church members

and hospital staff who had experienced the miracle



71

of Martha’s crystal globe… for years and years after

that eventful Christmas.

Those visiting could see Martha was getting tired.Who had ever had such an exciting, exhausting day?!

As they wished her well, said their good byes and

“Merry Christmas”es, the crowd slowly left the room

and the hall and the elevators and the lobby and the

parking lot. The only ones who stayed were Sam and

Ben and Sam’s parents.

“What a Christmas!” was all Martha said over and

over. Finally she asked, almost to herself, in a

whisper, “How in the world did this all got started.

Who sent that box with the glass globe that was left

at my door by the postman at the end of November?

Who could it have been?”

The others in the room heard Martha.

“Maybe it was Santa Claus himself,” Sam offered.

Ben looked at Sam in disbelief . “What? SantaClause? Sam, what are you talking about? It was you

who gave Miss Martha the globe. It was you when



you delivered her paper that morning. And, you told

me the surprise worked perfectly because it just

happened that the Postal Service truck was about to

drive away at the moment you rang the doorbell and

ran around Miss Martha’s house so you wouldn’t get

caught.” Molly growled.

Sam blushed and didn’t say anything. He just walked

over to Miss Martha and handed her the rolled

newspaper he had tucked under his arm.

Their town didn’t publish a newspaper on Christmas

Day – usually. This was a special edition. Martha

looked confused. She slowly unfolded the paper and

read the headline to herself. She was too filled with

emotion to read it aloud, so she turned the

newspaper around and held it up so Sam and his

parents and Ben could see. In HUGE letters across

the top of the front page the headline read:

miss martha's christmas

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