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- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Inspirational
- Subject: Inspirational / Uplifting
- Published: 12/08/2011
The Perfect Christmas Tree
Born 1961, M, from Independence, Virginia, United StatesLiving in the mountains of Virginia there are many thousands of acres of the highly sought after Frazier Fir Christmas trees planted. It has been a family tradition to go select and cut our own every year. We are fortunate that within a mile of our home we can walk through a large field of many choices and pick out the perfect, full, tall tree for our home. Trees of this quality would cost $80 to $100 dollars in the city yet we often pay only $20. Tree picking time has come again as the wind cools and thoughts of family, God and love fill our hearts.
We know an immigrant family here. The mother and father are some of the two hardest working people that I have ever known in my life. If offered a job they say "Yes" immediately as long as it is legal and ethical. I hired the man once to work with me in my vineyard.
Many around our nation pay immigrants much less than they would a citizen but here is the thing: They entered this country legally, pay taxes and represent the best of this melting pot we call America. We pay them what we would pay anyone else because they are after all, "Anyone else!" Some of my ancestors were not treated so well a couple hundred years ago. I haven't forgotten that. I haven't forgotten that if we are truly to call ourselves a nation of, "from many one" then this is a duty to all who wish to join us and bring the best of themselves to strengthen us.
I laugh when I see people walking through a vineyard with magic in their eyes. "It's so beautiful and romantic, isn't it honey?" she says as they walk hand in hand. The truth is a well manicured vineyard is beautiful. Gods creation of simple vines are manifested into glory as they grow in perfect rows above bright green grass and wildflowers. Bunches of grapes hang beneath the sun flecked canopy above like ornaments on a holiday tree. Yes, a vineyard is truly a beautiful place and is also the visual representation of many long hours of back breaking work. A vineyard is as beautiful to a spectator as a painting would be hanging on the wall. A vineyard is beautiful to its owner because financial risk and hard work paid off. Muscle pain, sunburn and an empty bank account don't seem so bad when the owner stands among the vines and sees a crop hanging beneath.
Sergio knows that I have had many injuries in my life. He knew when I hired him that I needed a strong body to do the things I could not. I didn't have to explain to him that every dime I paid a worker had to produce highly in results. Maria, his wife, and him came to America with no money in their pockets and a single change of clothes. They, knew well that everything we do in life must be fruitful or we will never see the realization of the American dream. By the time I hired him they had three beautiful children and all of the financial responsibility that went with it. He pulled into the field and waved with an honest smile. He wasn't wearing jeans with a label I recognized and his shirt was torn from hard work for others. He took a gallon milk jug of water filled from the tap and guzzled half of it. Yes, he came to work. I smiled with respect for the honest, decent, hard working family man that he was. "What you want me to do today? Let's get to it." The constant smile remained on his face born from a love of life and the blessings that this land, our land, his new land, had provided his family. We got to work, back breaking hard work.
The soil was rocky and hard as we dug the required three feet to sink a twelve foot locust trellising post in the ground. Every inch had to be chiseled from the earth with a flat bar to break up rock and clay. The modern post hole digging auger meant nothing in this soil. It would catch a rock with every turn. Yes, this labor had to be done by hand. Sergio stuck the measuring stick in the ground and smiled. "We got the first one. Let's get the post in the ground." We lifted the twelve foot long 300 pound post into the air and stuck it in the soil as the dawn dew evaporated from the canopies of vines. This would be a very hot, long hard day indeed. He tramped the soil firmly around the post and shoved it to make sure the post was solid, then nodded with satisfaction. A new row of vines would be born from this labor. A strong, tall post would raise them high into the air, far from the disease of the ground. No late summer mold would reach the grapes that high up. This would reduce the need for spray creating a more organic crop. His labor and mine would make a more healthy wine someday.
"Do you want to take a break?"
"No, we have many posts to sink today and I have my job to go to at night. Let's do a few more before we break."
I thought of the farm boys I had hired for this work in the past, the ones with jeans who's labels you would recognize and new un-torn shirts. They needed a break on every post, a long break. Sergio intended to finish this job today. He was a man of honor who had come to America with the intention of being a proud, strong American. I smiled as the new days sun burned my neck.
"Did I do something funny" he asked?
"No, you did something right. Thank you Sergio."
He smiled and guzzled the other half of the water jug. "Let's get back to work then." He dropped the jug on the ground and raised the steel bar to dig hole number two from the hard earth. The new vine row was finished as the sun began to set. I would go home, take aspirin and a long hot bath. Sergio faced a ten hour shift at a sawmill. Maria brought him dinner in a bag as we wrapped things up. He hugged them, gave her the money I had paid and drove away. The smile was still on his face. It had never left.
We have come to know Sergio and Maria well in the time since that day in the vineyard. They are still rock solid, good, decent, honorable people. Their children have grown to be very well mannered, hard working, intelligent Americans. They are the polite and respectful kids that make you smile when you see them. They are the future of our nation and if all are anything like them America will have a bright future indeed. Sergio and Maria still smile constantly. After many years of eating beans and rice from fifty pound sacks so they could save every dime they have purchased a modest home. They paid with cash that was saved from cleaning houses, digging holes and all of the other work others don't seem to want to do. They own their home outright and are now saving to put their oldest daughter through college. I'm happy for their success and proud to know them. My life is better for it, because I have seen the faces of bravery in a new land. I have seen the best of the future in my land, their land, our land.
We were going to search the fields this year for our Christmas tree. Maria called on the phone and told me they wanted to give us a Christmas tree for free. Having learned much about their culture over the years I know that it is an insult to turn down a gift. "Thank you so much for giving us a tree Maria." They brought the tree by the other day. He works in the tree fields every year at this time. The trees that are not full, tall and lush must be cut along with the good ones to make room for new plantings. They are discarded as junk. Sergio proudly collected them because in his world there is no such thing as junk if it can be used. The tree they gave us with a smile is one of these. It is truly the most sickly looking tree we have ever had. My wife suggested that we go cut boughs in the woods and wire them to it to make it full. We took a long look at it and realized that this tree was given with love. This tree is the perfect Christmas tree because it represents the true spirit of Christmas. God poured his love on the world by giving us his son. Sergio and Maria poured their love on us by giving the best gift they could give. Yes, it is indeed the perfect Christmas tree. We will decorate it with our best ornaments and it will shine and twinkle with the love from which it was born. As I stare at it more it seems not so bare, not so ugly, it seems beautiful to me. We have had many Christmas trees over the years but I think none so special as this. May God Bless all in the world with the love that has surrounded us this year. Merry Christmas.
The perfect tree copyright © 2011 by Tom Williams. All rights reserved
The Perfect Christmas Tree(Tom Williams)
Living in the mountains of Virginia there are many thousands of acres of the highly sought after Frazier Fir Christmas trees planted. It has been a family tradition to go select and cut our own every year. We are fortunate that within a mile of our home we can walk through a large field of many choices and pick out the perfect, full, tall tree for our home. Trees of this quality would cost $80 to $100 dollars in the city yet we often pay only $20. Tree picking time has come again as the wind cools and thoughts of family, God and love fill our hearts.
We know an immigrant family here. The mother and father are some of the two hardest working people that I have ever known in my life. If offered a job they say "Yes" immediately as long as it is legal and ethical. I hired the man once to work with me in my vineyard.
Many around our nation pay immigrants much less than they would a citizen but here is the thing: They entered this country legally, pay taxes and represent the best of this melting pot we call America. We pay them what we would pay anyone else because they are after all, "Anyone else!" Some of my ancestors were not treated so well a couple hundred years ago. I haven't forgotten that. I haven't forgotten that if we are truly to call ourselves a nation of, "from many one" then this is a duty to all who wish to join us and bring the best of themselves to strengthen us.
I laugh when I see people walking through a vineyard with magic in their eyes. "It's so beautiful and romantic, isn't it honey?" she says as they walk hand in hand. The truth is a well manicured vineyard is beautiful. Gods creation of simple vines are manifested into glory as they grow in perfect rows above bright green grass and wildflowers. Bunches of grapes hang beneath the sun flecked canopy above like ornaments on a holiday tree. Yes, a vineyard is truly a beautiful place and is also the visual representation of many long hours of back breaking work. A vineyard is as beautiful to a spectator as a painting would be hanging on the wall. A vineyard is beautiful to its owner because financial risk and hard work paid off. Muscle pain, sunburn and an empty bank account don't seem so bad when the owner stands among the vines and sees a crop hanging beneath.
Sergio knows that I have had many injuries in my life. He knew when I hired him that I needed a strong body to do the things I could not. I didn't have to explain to him that every dime I paid a worker had to produce highly in results. Maria, his wife, and him came to America with no money in their pockets and a single change of clothes. They, knew well that everything we do in life must be fruitful or we will never see the realization of the American dream. By the time I hired him they had three beautiful children and all of the financial responsibility that went with it. He pulled into the field and waved with an honest smile. He wasn't wearing jeans with a label I recognized and his shirt was torn from hard work for others. He took a gallon milk jug of water filled from the tap and guzzled half of it. Yes, he came to work. I smiled with respect for the honest, decent, hard working family man that he was. "What you want me to do today? Let's get to it." The constant smile remained on his face born from a love of life and the blessings that this land, our land, his new land, had provided his family. We got to work, back breaking hard work.
The soil was rocky and hard as we dug the required three feet to sink a twelve foot locust trellising post in the ground. Every inch had to be chiseled from the earth with a flat bar to break up rock and clay. The modern post hole digging auger meant nothing in this soil. It would catch a rock with every turn. Yes, this labor had to be done by hand. Sergio stuck the measuring stick in the ground and smiled. "We got the first one. Let's get the post in the ground." We lifted the twelve foot long 300 pound post into the air and stuck it in the soil as the dawn dew evaporated from the canopies of vines. This would be a very hot, long hard day indeed. He tramped the soil firmly around the post and shoved it to make sure the post was solid, then nodded with satisfaction. A new row of vines would be born from this labor. A strong, tall post would raise them high into the air, far from the disease of the ground. No late summer mold would reach the grapes that high up. This would reduce the need for spray creating a more organic crop. His labor and mine would make a more healthy wine someday.
"Do you want to take a break?"
"No, we have many posts to sink today and I have my job to go to at night. Let's do a few more before we break."
I thought of the farm boys I had hired for this work in the past, the ones with jeans who's labels you would recognize and new un-torn shirts. They needed a break on every post, a long break. Sergio intended to finish this job today. He was a man of honor who had come to America with the intention of being a proud, strong American. I smiled as the new days sun burned my neck.
"Did I do something funny" he asked?
"No, you did something right. Thank you Sergio."
He smiled and guzzled the other half of the water jug. "Let's get back to work then." He dropped the jug on the ground and raised the steel bar to dig hole number two from the hard earth. The new vine row was finished as the sun began to set. I would go home, take aspirin and a long hot bath. Sergio faced a ten hour shift at a sawmill. Maria brought him dinner in a bag as we wrapped things up. He hugged them, gave her the money I had paid and drove away. The smile was still on his face. It had never left.
We have come to know Sergio and Maria well in the time since that day in the vineyard. They are still rock solid, good, decent, honorable people. Their children have grown to be very well mannered, hard working, intelligent Americans. They are the polite and respectful kids that make you smile when you see them. They are the future of our nation and if all are anything like them America will have a bright future indeed. Sergio and Maria still smile constantly. After many years of eating beans and rice from fifty pound sacks so they could save every dime they have purchased a modest home. They paid with cash that was saved from cleaning houses, digging holes and all of the other work others don't seem to want to do. They own their home outright and are now saving to put their oldest daughter through college. I'm happy for their success and proud to know them. My life is better for it, because I have seen the faces of bravery in a new land. I have seen the best of the future in my land, their land, our land.
We were going to search the fields this year for our Christmas tree. Maria called on the phone and told me they wanted to give us a Christmas tree for free. Having learned much about their culture over the years I know that it is an insult to turn down a gift. "Thank you so much for giving us a tree Maria." They brought the tree by the other day. He works in the tree fields every year at this time. The trees that are not full, tall and lush must be cut along with the good ones to make room for new plantings. They are discarded as junk. Sergio proudly collected them because in his world there is no such thing as junk if it can be used. The tree they gave us with a smile is one of these. It is truly the most sickly looking tree we have ever had. My wife suggested that we go cut boughs in the woods and wire them to it to make it full. We took a long look at it and realized that this tree was given with love. This tree is the perfect Christmas tree because it represents the true spirit of Christmas. God poured his love on the world by giving us his son. Sergio and Maria poured their love on us by giving the best gift they could give. Yes, it is indeed the perfect Christmas tree. We will decorate it with our best ornaments and it will shine and twinkle with the love from which it was born. As I stare at it more it seems not so bare, not so ugly, it seems beautiful to me. We have had many Christmas trees over the years but I think none so special as this. May God Bless all in the world with the love that has surrounded us this year. Merry Christmas.
The perfect tree copyright © 2011 by Tom Williams. All rights reserved
Valerie Allen
12/22/2022A perfect story for the season! This a good reminder that all Americas are the result of immigrants who came here for a better life and created our "melting pot." Our birthplace is by chance and Americans are fortunate to have been born here. Congrats on being a StoryStar!
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Shelly Garrod
12/21/2022A beautiful spirited Christmas story. Well written. A tree is just a tree. A Christmas tree is made with love. Perfect- imperfect. Decorated or not decorated. Congratulations on Short Story Star of the week.
Many blessings Shelly
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Lillian Kazmierczak
12/17/2022This was a marvelous story of true Christmas spirit. A gift born of love is the best of presents, that Nick and Maria thought enough of you and your family to give you that tree is testament to how loved you are!
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Lillian Kazmierczak
12/18/2022Tom, this story is the heart of Christmas spirit! Congratulations on short story star of the week!
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Kevin Hughes
12/09/2018Gail said it all.
And I am glad you didn't change a thing about the tree. \
Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Gail Moore
12/09/2018What a very special Christmas story. Loved it.
A very Merry Christmas to you xx
COMMENTS (6)