Looking Back to Christmas and New Year's Past

Here are a couple of pieces (the first one an e-mail) I wrote this morning, thinking back in my teen years and some men who sacrificed to make them enjoyable and rewarding:

David,

A blessed Christmas and New Year to you and Ruth,

I was thinking the past few days of my teen aged years. On a few occasions this week in between Christmas and New Year's meant going on the New York District Teen Winter Retreat in the Pocono Mountains. I remember you driving the school bus and making stops at some of the churches as we picked up kids along the way. Originating in Bay Shore, we made stops in East Rockaway, Paterson, Edison and perhaps one other spot.

I remember our first evening one year. The fire was roaring in the dining room and you prayed for the evening meal. You sat at our table, right in among the teens. We had fun filled activities and met in a barn with a pot bellied stove for our times of worship and the Word.

The date of the retreat were December 29-31, 1969. It was held in a little town called Swiftwater, PA and was limited to the first 75 teenagers that registered . The cost was $27! The next year it was held at the Gymbo-Lynn Lodge December 28-30, 1970 and the cost was $28! At one of those times we were going out to a horse back riding event. You were driving the bus. The roads were iced and we went into a slide and you yelled out for everyone to hold on. Like right out of a line in "Jingle Bells" we were in a snow bank where the road crews had piled it up. No one was hurt but the bus was stuck. There was a farm house nearby and and they provided us with sand and salt and shovels and in a few minutes we were out and on our way.

I began to thinking this week of the sacrifice you made to drive a load of teens up there and give up time away from your young family. I remember coming home in 1969. It was dark when we pulled into the Suffolk Bus lot here in Bay Shore on Brentwood Road. I went over to the Bedell's house in West Islip and waited for my dad to pick me up. He arrived and we went back to Bellmore in time for me to change and join my family heading over to Freeport to Oliver Wirth's church for the watch night service. (Bellmore and Freeport joined in on such ventures back them) What struck me is that you no doubt had a watch night service yourself to lead after three days of supervising teens. True we didn't have cell phones back then. There was no e-mail. The only computers were made by IBM and the thought of having one in your home was only on the Jetsons. Families had little breakdown at that point in our country's history. Yet I am sure we wore you out some with all our energy and even some of our problems. They seem like small potatoes with what the teens of today contend with but they were big to us.

I wanted to say thanks (only 38 years late on it!) for we knew you loved us and cared about us. We looked at you as a man of solid faith and we were right. What I never thought of was the sacrifices you made so that some teens could have a time of fun and spiritual growth and memories of it that would stay with us for the long haul.

God bless you and Ruth, David!

Yours In the Savior,

Larry Mancini

Hebrews 13.16

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This week between Christmas and New Years is what we called The Christmas Break. I spoke to one of my nieces a week ago and remembered the feelings of having a week and a few days off. We spoke about how that last day before the break was somewhat a waste in that it was hard to concentrate. I remember in 1971 that day being sort of a free day to hang out in the cafeteria or go to the girl's gym and hear some bands play.

What I remember most of those breaks was that they really weren't breaks at all for me. It was Winter Track Season and we had practice all week. We'd arrive at the school around 9 or 10. We would gt our instructions from Mr. Limmer. Then we would run. Usually the weather was like it is this particular week. It was cool but no snow.

Running was a little different in December in Bellmore. The houses were decorated. Nowhere near as many are today, but a wreath on a door, some garland hung, and other small changes were apparent. Kids were outside in the morning and so were we. There was a sense of freedom to it.

We would talk about what we got for Christmas that day after. I remember getting a Lafayette clock radio in 1971. It had a weather band. It was made right here in Syosset. Confession I still have it down in the basement! After I got that it made getting up a bit more pleasant. Before I had this buzzer alarm that would break up my winter slumber. But after I received the radio I would wake up to 77 WABC's Harry Harrison playing the top 100 for the year 1971. It made leaving the warm bed in the upstairs of the Cape Cod at 2804 Martin Avenue run out in the winter's cold over to Mepham a bit more enjoyable.

Thanks Coach for driving all the way in from your house each day do those breaks for practice.