Gather ’round now as I tell you the tale of an extinct creature known in our family by the nefarious moniker “The Bacon’s Box”. Alas, no real pork is involved…disappointing but true. You see, in my family I would spend Christmas Eve with my dad and his family (a sad little unit of never more then 7 people) and Christmas with my mom and her family at our Uncle’s James house in a small town in Georgetown, Indiana.

We would all gather at the house, starting sometime around lunch on Christmas Day, for dinner, fun, and presents. There were quite a few of us as it included my mom, her two brothers, spouses, their kids, and my Grandpa and Grandma Howard. The time period was the early to mid eighties, and as the youngest of the kids (at that time) I was already ready for presents even before the chocolate pie had been served (and if you have never had chocolate pie, then YOU HAVE NOT LIVED A FULL LIFE). Read the rest of this entry »