Christmas Tree Memories

My name is Ted. I grew up in the 50s, but my childhood memories are still alive. The most pleasant of them is the family Christmas tree. Besides my mum and dad, there were five children in the family. We all took part in decorating the Christmas tree, one way or another. It was a special time for me as dad took us for a trip to the winter forest.

The experience was special as only boys were allowed to go to the countryside to pick out the tree. At the age of five I felt proud to be in a man’s adventure. I remember walking through the forest with dad looking for the perfect, large tree. We had a tall ceiling in the living room, so a small tree did not look right there.

At the age of five, even a small tree seemed great to me. To measure a tree I raised my hands above my head and looked up. If I could reach the top of the tree I thought it was big enough. Dad, however, always chose the perfect tree very carefully.

Once he had made his choice, he took out an axe to cut down the tree. I wanted to help my dad and brothers, but they always told me to stand back. When the cutting began, I tried to hold the tree up. I was afraid the tree would fall on them and I felt strong enough to hold it.

After the tree was down we took it to the car and went back home. I don’t remember how we got that large tree through the door, but it was always right. Then dad got the tree to stand up and we could start the decorating. The tree, the boxes with decorations and a tall ladder took up the whole room.

All the family took part as mum gave everyone a task. I had to pass the decorations. What I liked best about the Christmas tree were the lights. When everybody else had left I stayed in the room and watched the lights travelling up and down the Christmas tree. Dad had one more special job that day. Mum took her favourite ornament, a lighted angel, which she had got as a present from her family. Dad climbed up the ladder and fixed the angel at the top of the Christmas tree. When I looked at the angel, I thought Santa was close to my house.Everyone, and the decorated shining tree, was ready to celebrate Christmas. It was so big that it nearly touched the ceiling. I felt I was a small part of a big adventure. The last few years we lived in that house the trips to the forest with dad ceased. We bought an artificial tree instead.

A Desperate Adventure

Captain Cowgill had always wanted to arrange a hot-air balloon expedition. One day, he placed an announcement in all the morning papers. He wrote that he needed three people who wanted to take a risky adventure. Ten people came to his office and Captain Cowgill selected three of them: two men and a young lady.

The first volunteer was Mr. Crutter, a well-dressed man of about sixty. He looked depressed and unhappy. The second one was a doctor, Dr. Hagan, a sad thin gentleman. The third adventurer, Miss Dermott, looked slim and miserable. They were ready to fly in the balloon in spite of the risks. Though Captain Cowgill hoped for success, there was a great chance that the participants wouldn’t come back.

The next day, the balloon was ready for the journey. They had some food and the gas equipment. It was supposed that the travellers would fly during the day and then land for the night. Right before the take-off, a young man ran up to Captain Cowgill and begged to let him join the expedition. Captain Cowgill listened to his arguments and let the young man, Mr. Winden, fly too.

With the last farewell to Captain Cowgill, the balloon went sailing towards the clouds. At first the travellers said nothing. An hour later they found the journey exciting. Two hours later they revealed their reasons for coming on the dangerous flight.

Mr. Crutter said that he had been cheated by his partners and had lost a large part of his business. Though he had enough money left, he felt extremely depressed. Dr. Hagan told the travellers that he had lost his job in a hospital. He felt lonely and unwanted. Miss Dermott said that she suffered from a serious disease and had no money for treatment. Mr. Winden had just split up with his girlfriend and was ready to die.

In the evening, the travellers decided to take a rest. They landed in a deserted place and tied the balloon to a tree. After supper they continued talking about their unhappy fates. Suddenly, Mr. Crutter offered to share his money with his new friends. Dr. Hagan smiled and looked at Miss Dermont. “I think I can cure you, Miss Dermott,” he said. “I have already had patients with the same diagnosis.” Miss Diamont smiled. But it wasn’t the last surprise. Mr. Winden proposed to Miss Diamont saying that he had fallen in love at first sight. She shyly promised to think it over.

The talk raised their spirits and, in the morning, everybody decided to go back home. Now when all their problems were happily solved, they didn’t want to go anywhere. Suddenly Miss Dermott cried out pointing to a distant object in the sky. It was their balloon that had broken loose while they were having breakfast. Nobody felt upset!

The group decided to walk to the nearest railway station. Mr. Crutter bought tickets for his new friends and they sent Captain Cowgill a telegram. It said that the balloon had flown away accidentally, their expedition had failed and they would arrive in town the next day.