No turkey sandwiches, no turkey soup…

I am an admitted A Christmas Story junkie. When I was a child I had a VHS of the movie that was recorded directly from TV. I watched it so many times that I memorized the dialogue of the film and the commercial breaks that were caught in time on the tape. I’ve since graduated to a DVD (maybe even a Blu-Ray soon!), but my love of Jean Shepherd’s classic tale has never faded.

For those of you who have watched the movie but not cracked In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, the book of short stories that birthed the epic tale of Ralphie and Randy, I urge you to do so this Christmas Season. Gather the family together on Christmas Eve or Day and indulge in Shepherd’s short stories that capture his hometown of Holden, Indiana and the antics that he participated in upon his return. Walk down memory lane and let the stories unfold as Flick tends bar and the real Ralphie reminisces about life in Holden.

You can bet that I will be snuggled in at least once (probably more) over the next week listening to Jean Shepherd narrate the best Christmas movie of all time. Just in case any of you are already fans, I will not mention the fact that I met Jean Shepherd once many years ago. At the time I couldn’t answer his questions out of sheer awe (or childish fear), but I will answer now. No, Mr. Shepherd, I did not shoot my eye out, but thanks for noticing my patch.

Happy Holidays!