Making a Grismas list… and checking it twice

Some ghosts of Macon Christmas past

— Jon Currey and Sean Davis were seniors at Mount de Sales Academy and were serving as acolytes during a Christmas candlelight service at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in December 1995.  A lighted candle briefly caught Davis’ curly hair on fire. It was captured on camera by a Macon television station. Mount de Sales eventually bought the rights to the video and submitted it to the popular TV show, “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” which was hosted by Bob Saget and one of the top-rated shows on TV. It aired in late 1996, and Davis and Currey were flown to Los Angeles, where they won over two other finalists.

— Lindsay, Josh and Andrew Powell, who grew up in Macon, are the niece and nephews of country music singer Ronnie Milsap. When the Powells were children, they were photographed with Milsap for the cover of his 1986 Christmas album.

— In 1999, Betty Edwards, an artist from Macon, made an 8×14-inch ornament of a snowman with peaches that was selected for the White House Christmas tree of President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton.

— Macon’s Buddy Greene – a musician, singer and songwriter in Nashville – co-wrote the modern-day Christmas classic “Mary, Did You Know?” with Mark Lowry of the Gaither Vocal Band in 1984. This year marks the 40th anniversary of its release. (See the Gris List of favorite holiday songs).

— For more than a generation, Alfred King Story was the face and voice of Christmas in Macon.  He would dress in his Santa outfit and ride in a float in the annual Chamber of Commerce Christmas parade on Cherry Street. He would wink and wave to every wide-eyed child shouting his name atop their father’s shoulders. And every Christmas Eve, he would broadcast from the studios of WMAZ radio. His audience would gather around their radios and listen to weather reports from the North Pole. He read letters from children asking for dolls and bicycles. In the background, you could hear the scurrying of elves and reindeer getting ready to deliver those toys all over the world. In December 1966, the radio station made arrangements for him to do his final Christmas Eve broadcast from his hospital bed. Story died the following year.

My not-so-condensed holiday music playlist

— “Mary, Did You Know?” – Macon’s own Buddy Greene co-wrote it 40 years ago this year. It has been recorded by a number of well-known singers, including Kathy Mattea, Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Wynonna Judd, Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Amy Grant and Clay Aiken. One of the most popular versions was released by the group Penatonix in 2014 and has received more than 314 million views on YouTube.

— “Old Toy Trains” – With three sons, our family wore out the Raffi version of this song at our house. It was written and performed by the late Roger Miller, a singer/songwriter I grew up listening to and greatly admired.

— “Away in a Manger” – No neighborhood Christmas caroling would be complete without it.

— “Hallelujah” – Perhaps my all-time favorite Christmas music video is Lindsey Stirling playing “Hallelujah” on her violin in the subway, where nobody recognizes her. She then performs on stage in concert in front of thousands of adoring fans. It is a powerful message. And while you’re catching her on YouTube, make sure to watch her version of another Christmas classic, “Angels We Have Heard on High’’ while dancing on the water. Amazing.

— “White Christmas” – In Middle Georgia, a white Christmas is mostly wishful thinking. Bing Crosby’s version from the movie is the best-selling record single of all time.

— “Silent Night” –  The most meaningful part of any Christmas Eve candlelight service is when the lights are dimmed and everyone sings it a cappella.

— “The First Noel” – The angels got it right. Don’t mess with the angels.

— “There’s a New Kid in Town” – I get choked up every time I hear the lyrics. Although Keith Whitley, George Strait and Blake Shelton all recorded it, I prefer to listen to those special songbirds – Kathy Mattea and Monticello’s own Trisha Yearwood.

—“What Child Is This?” – Put it on your playlist every morning in December and it will be repeated in your head and heart for the rest of the day.

— “Where Are You Christmas?” – It is my favorite part of “The Grinch” movie with Jim Carrey. (Faith Hill is also pretty easy on the eyes.)

— “Jingle Bells” – Dashing through the snow is the most uplifting of all the children’s holiday songs, followed closely by “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

— “Let It Be Christmas” – My wife is a huge fan of Alan Jackson and his gospel albums. This song has become a modern  Christmas favorite. Having a children’s choir accompany him on the last verse is way cooler than a frosty Christmas morning.

— “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” – It doesn’t get any better than the version by The (Mormon) Tabernacle Choir.

— “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” – Charles Wesley wrote the words in 1745, and the music was added almost a century later, so contemporary versions of this hymn don’t do it justice. It is best appreciated when sung by a choir or as a congregational hymn.

— “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” – I apologize. But this moment of weakness is the result of it skipping on the turntable in my head since the late 1980s. 

My December required reading list 

— Luke 2:1-20 – The Birth of Jesus. The original Christmas story. 

— “A Christmas Memory’’ – Truman Capote’s short story has taken permanent residence in my heart since I first saw the 1966 movie with Geraldine Page. When I was a freshman at the University of Georgia, I sat on the cold ground at the Reed Quadrangle one night and was mesmerized as Capote read this aloud to the crowd. He was one of my favorite writers.

 — “One Solitary Life” – The musical “Holiday Spectacular” was once a Christmas tradition at Macon Little Theatre. It always closed with a narration of “One Solitary Life.’’ I loved it then. I love it now. Its roots were in a sermon by a Baptist preacher named James Allan Francis in 1926, and it has been widely recited at Christmas for almost a century. For Christians, it is the essence of why we celebrate this day.

— “The Polar Express’’ – I read Chris Van Allsburg’s classic to my sons when they were children. And I have read it to my grandchildren. It may be the most beautifully written and illustrated children’s book of all time. Whenever I read it to schoolchildren, I pull a tiny bell out of my pocket and tell them it came from Santa’s sleigh.   

— “Skipping Christmas’’ – John Grisham is one of the biggest names and most prolific authors of this generation. He wrote  this time-honored tale in 2001. It reached an even wider audience after it became a popular holiday movie, “Christmas With the Kranks.’’

— “52 Little Lessons from It’s a Wonderful Life’’ – I have been friends with author Bob Welch since 2004. In many ways, we are kindred spirits – even though he lives in Oregon, some 2,000 miles away. We have enjoyed parallel careers as newspaper columnists, journalism teachers and the father of sons. We also share a love of our favorite Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life.’’ In the book, Bob has a year’s worth of weekly devotionals based on the movie. 

— “A Christmas Carol” –  Ebenezer Scrooge was the original Grinch. Bah Humbug. The masterful Charles Dickens – certainly worthy of G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) consideration – gave us this timeless story that is rich in characters with three Christmas ghosts, Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley and Tiny Tim.

— “How the Grinch Stole Christmas’’ – Dr. Seuss left us with a valuable reminder each holiday season: “It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ‘til his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas,  perhaps, means a little bit more.’’

— “The Shepherd, the Angel and Walter the Miracle Christmas Dog”  – This book is a hoot …  just like Dave Barry, the most gifted humor writer of our generation. It’s about a chaotic Christmas pageant in 1960. It will make you laugh and cry … maybe at the same time.

My must-see Christmas flicks

— “It’s a Wonderful Life” – I can’t think of any Christmas Eve for the past 25 years that my wife and I haven’t sat down and watched George Bailey try to figure it all out. Whenever I find myself overlooking the joys, neglecting the beauty or not fully appreciating my blessings, I can count on George to give me a gentle nudge. And who can forget the advice from Clarence, his guardian angel? “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.’’

— “A Christmas Story” – I see a lot of myself in Ralphie. And the “A Christmas Story Christmas” sequel on HBO was great, too. As a bonus, here is some priceless trivia from the 1983 original. In the famous scene at the Chinese restaurant (Fa-Ra-Ra-Ra-Ra) near the end of the movie, Melinda Dillon, who played Ralphie’s mother, was intentionally given a different script than the others. So, when the waiter chops off the duck’s head, her reaction was spontaneous. Everyone was in on it but her.

— “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” – I am constantly channeling my inner Clark Griswold during the holidays. If you turn on the closed captioning while you’re watching, Uncle Lewis refers to him as “Gris’’ at the Christmas family dinner. 

— “Home Alone” –  It’s still funny after all these years. There are plenty of belly laughs followed by misty eyes every time I watch the scene at the end with Kevin and Old Man Marley.

— “Elf’’ – It doesn’t have to be Christmas for me to enjoy Will Ferrell as the big elf. And it’s extra special this holiday season with Macon’s own Grey Henson cast in Ferrell’s star role as “Buddy” in the Broadway production of “Elf.’’

— “Miracle on 34th Street” – It should be a requirement to watch the 1947 version with a 9-year-old Natalie Wood – not the 1994 remake. And you have to see it in black-in-white, not the colorized adaptation.

— “Christmas with the Kranks” – This is another on my must-see holiday list. Based on the book “Skipping Christmas” by John Grisham, there is plenty of fodder for thought.

— “White Christmas” – Featuring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and one of the world’s most famous songs, it ranks as one of the most nostalgic Christmas movies of all time. Actress Anne Whitfield, who died earlier this year, played the role of Susan Waverly in the movie. Whitfield spent part of her childhood in Macon and attended  Clisby Elementary (now Vineville Academy.) “White Christmas” had its Macon premiere on Christmas Day in 1954.  

— “Annie” – It’s part of my timeline. The movie came out the year (1982) we got married. I took my wife to see the play at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. It was the first Broadway show she had ever seen. Our oldest granddaughter was cast in the lead role as “Annie” when Macon Little Theatre performed it in December 2023. (And our youngest granddaughter played  Molly.)

— “Christmas in Connecticut” – There are several reasons this makes my list. First, it was a romantic comedy long before they started making cheesy Hallmark movies. Second, Barbara Stanwyck plays a writer, something near and dear to my heart. Did you know the returning war hero (and romantic interest) is played by Dennis Morgan? If that name sounds familiar, he was the actor who was cast as Macon’s Gen. Robert Scott in the movie “God Is My Co-Pilot,’’ which was released that same year (1945) and had its world premiere at The Grand in Macon on Feb. 21, 1945.

— “Edward  Scissorhands”– My wife believes “Die Hard” qualifies as a Christmas movie, so this is my pushback. The closing scenes in Scissorhands involve a Christmas party, impressive ice sculptures and carols in the background. I love this movie on so many levels, even if no one else in my family will watch it with me this holiday season.