A Twist on a Christmas Story

In 2001 I had a lot of difficult things going on. My mom was in the hospital and I was driving back and forth every week to visit her, my ex husband had just moved out and I was trying to make ends meet on just one salary. Money was very tight. I managed to buy my kids a few special toys, but wanted to do something that was even more personal. So I wrote this story for them...



They were three little boys with dirty knees
With hearts for adventure and a world to seize
Mom gave them each a five-dollar bill
And said they could spend it on whatever they will
“Just look out for each other and keep careful track”
She said as she kissed them each Chris, Ben and Zach
“We should go to a baseball game.” Mentioned Ben full of cheer
But the fields were too far maybe four miles from here
“How about a movie?” suggested Zach to Ben
“The movie that’s showing is about the adventures of men”
Then Chris spoke up with great wisdom for his brothers
“Let’s live our own adventures instead of those of others”
“But how can we do that?” Asked Zachary to Chris
“With only five dollars each how can we do this?”
Christopher was already thinking of a way
To make this the most unforgettable day
“First we’ll clean the garage,” said Chris to the boys
“Get rid of the garbage and clean up our toys
We need to make room to build our invention”
Ben and Zach were unsure once cleaning was mentioned.
“After we clean we’ll need wood,” Chris began to explain
“Enough to build our time machine train
Of course we’ll need switches and plenty of wires
A radio would help and our old go cart tires
We’ll go to Goodwill and to some yard sales
We’ll buy an old toaster and some sheets to make sails”
His voice grew louder as his excitement grew stronger
“We’ll need an old hose at least twenty feet or longer
And the string from our kite should do just the trick
Then four yards of padding at least two inches thick”
He planned out the sizes carefully adding it all
As his brothers cleaned up down to the last tennis ball
“We’re ready,” they chanted as Chris finished the list
“Let’s shop” they exclaimed, money clenched tightly in fists
“We’ll need the red wagon to carry our goods
As we travel to yard sales in our neighborhood”
They each took a backpack to help carry the load
Together they set out down Sycamore road.
The first house they came to had a box labeled ‘free’
They found an old clock radio that would work perfectly
At the brick house on the corner of Frances Street
They found a sign that read “Camping Gear – Cheap”
They bought a dome tent with a rip in one side
And four bed rolls of foam for five ninety five
Zachary wanted the basketball too
But his brothers reminded him that just wouldn’t do
“We need to be careful to stick to our list
Or an important item just might be missed”
At one house, men were building a deck on the ground
Out front was a woodpile were free scraps could be found
At the next Ben spotted a hose, a toaster and wires
And an old silver bucket for putting out fires
At six twenty-five it seemed like a good deal
The man even threw in a fishing rod with a reel
They found some car parts at the Goodwill store
They bought a steering wheel for one dollar more
They found two axels, some gauges, and pedals for gas
Checked every item off their list right down to the last
Their backpacks now full they marched their way home
Loaded with their reassures right down to the foam
“First get the wood” directed Chris with a firm voice
“We’ll need to start with the frame there’s no other choice”
Ben and Zach listened to what he said and closely followed orders
They balanced the wood on top of their shoulders
They found a hammer and some nails in the tool chest
And pounded the nails never stopping to rest
“With the frame finished now we need the axels and wheels”
Next came the wires and the string from the fishing reel
“We’ll use the old gauges and pedals next thing”
They listed off items for Zachary to bring
The clock radio they found would work just fine
As a gauge they could set for traveling through time
The tent they would use as a shelter or sail
Depending on if there was sunshine or hail
To make their train safe, they nailed in the padding
It could protect them all in case of crash landings
They brought the rest from the rod to the hose in
They boarded themselves, seats carefully chosen
Their breath now came slowly they were ready to start
They were sure they could hear their own beating hearts
They agreed on a date they wanted to see
Then set the clock back to 100,000 BC
They sat on their knees and closed their eyes tight
And imagined their train traveling from sight
Chris counted down “5-4-3-2-1”
They opened their eyes the adventure begun
“Look over there!” shouted Ben with great fear
“It’s a dinosaur egg; its Moms probably near!”
Zachary yelled, “Look, up in the sky!”
A pterodactyl is teaching her babies to fly!”
Suddenly the train shook terribly
“It’s a T-Rex he wants to eat ME!”
“Quickly” shouted Chris “reset the clock
Get us out of this place while we can still walk!”
Ben set the time at 100 BC
They were glad to be alive and sat silently
But of in the distance they could see a large war
This seemed even scarier than the time before
Men carried swords and wore armor and shields
And fought each other leaving bodies in fields
“Why are they fighting and killing each other?”
Asked Zach to his two older brothers
“This must be a war over who owns the land
They don’t have guns yet and they fight with their hands.”
“Let’s go forward in time and see if they’ve stopped
just 100 years later maybe the anger has dropped”
They arrived on a night with a bright shining star
In the light that it cast not too very far
They saw a small stable with some excitement inside
They moved closer to see the manger where a baby lied
Their voices were quiet, as they knew what this must be
“It’s Jesus” Ben whispered, “He’s looking at me.”
They stood in the shadows staring at him
They stayed back in the fields too afraid to go in
They returned to their train in silent esteem
Amazed at the miracle they had just seen
As they sat in their train and visited dozens of places
They saw both hope and sadness on many more faces
Until finally they landed back safely at home
Sitting in wonder on their seats made of foam
“Come and eat, dinner’s ready!” they heard their mom say
And hurried inside to tell her about their day
“There were pirates and dinosaurs and warriors too
There were mountains and valleys and oceans so blue!”
Mom listened intently as they gave her the story
Of adventures at sea and each war won in glory
Then Mom asked, “Tell me boys, of all these wonderful places,
Which was the best of all of these faces?”
The boys were silent, as they each knew what to say
“Mama,” Zach said, “This has been such a wonderful day.
We saw princes and Kings and peasants and strangers
But the most beautiful face was asleep in a manger.”
“We saw Jesus, Mom” Said Ben in a whispering sigh
“I saw him there sleeping with my very own eyes”
As three little boys went to bed that night
Their imaginations soared with delight
Tomorrow we’ll travel to Camelot too
We’ll visit Rome and maybe a zoo
We can go anywhere we want in our time machine train
They fell fast asleep safe in their beds once again