I received this (now classic) Van Halen 1984 album as a Christmas present from my sister, back in… 1984. I was very psyched-out to receive this album as a gift back then. I can vividly recall playing this Van Halen vinyl on my old turntable and trying to do spinning back kicks (like David Lee Roth) to the hit-song Jump. Whoa.
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CHRISTMAS 2012 – With Christmas only being days away, It seems like yesterday was the start of Labor Day weekend. Time keeps on moving, like greased lightning! Is it just me or does time move along slower when you’re a kid? When I was a kid, it seemed as if the first 24 days of December went by like an entire year!
A couple of childhood Christmas memories of mine, I’d like to share:
I remember going to The Warner Theatre in downtown Torrington, Connecticut for the annual UAW Local 1645 Christmas party. This Christmas party was a spectacle to experience as a little kid! My Father was a member of this union; therefore I was lucky enough to attend this fun Christmas event at The Warner. Santa gave a toy to each child (and it was a decent/large toy too). There was a movie (G rated, of course) and cartoons to watch on the theater screen, while munching down popcorn and drinking soda to my heart’s delight.
Here’s what The Warner Theatre looks like today: notice the Art-Deco style to this theatre’s exterior. The restoration that has been done to The Warner Theatre is nothing short of amazing. Whoa.
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I remember going to Torrington’s Christmas Village. This Christmas Village is world-known, (just like The Warner Theatre is). When I was a very young lad, the lines of people who waited to get inside our hometown’s Christmas Village seemed endless to me! The hot chocolate sold on the sidewalk (leading to Christmas Village) was and always shall be: The World’s Greatest Hot Chocolate Ever Served.
Yes, Santa and his merry elves were waiting inside this magnificent Christmas Village for all the visitors to see. Santa sat by a very large, wood burning fireplace. Man, I can still feel the warmth of that fireplace on my face, as I write this Christmas memory down. My body would shake and my words would tremble, as I sat on Santa’s lap. Never would I request more than two toys; it’s how I was taught by my parents, back in the day.
Santa’s reindeer were there at Christmas Village too! Each and every one of them. Crap, I can’t remember if Rudolph was there, after all these years. Regardless, my wife and I were fortunate enough to take our daughters to this same Christmas Village when they were just tots as well. Good Christmas times.
Here’s what the front entrance to Torrington’s Christmas Village looks like:
I wish everyone a Very, Merry and Rockin’ Christmas! Happy holidays, Feliz Navidad and Happy New Year too!
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God Bless the children and faculty of Sandy Hook Elementary School. God Bless all of their families and the community of Newtown, Connecticut as well. Heaven welcomed in a heroic group of angels from Sandy Hook Elementary School, on December 14th, 2012. I know for certain my sister Christine took part of their welcoming them into Heaven; for my late sister was the greatest (teaching) paraprofessional I ever had the honor to know and work alongside with.
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Stone.
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