MAKICHUK: The road to salvation and ghosts of Christmas past
Find it in your heart, to be generous this Yuletide season
It was, without a doubt, my best Christmas.
I think I was about 10 years old, when I looked under the tree and unwrapped the coolest thing ever.
I was dazzled, as I held the box — a James Bond 007 toy attache case!
The one featured in From Russia With Love!
Complete with a cool gun, rifle extension and scope, plastic bullets, a code book, a hidden knife and 007 business cards!
I was the happiest kid on Wyandotte St. East in Windsor, Ont.
I adored James Bond and Sean Connery, and this gift was like the best thing ever.
A part of me wishes I could have somehow kept it (it cost only $10 then), as today they sell on eBay for around US$1,000-plus!
The folks who make 007 toys today, came out with a newer version 58 years later, and it was very cool too, but they replaced the gun with a movie camera.
A bit lame. Times have changed, I guess.
Back in the day, we often played in our neighborhood with toy guns, day or night — today, that would probably draw a police Tac-Team.
We didn’t need video games, the internet, or anything else.
Hell, you were lucky if you got a new hockey stick, maybe a cheap NHL jersey, a Rolling Stone LP, a Lionel train set, or a football.
All these things were considered really cool.
Rich kids got more of course, but when you’re growing up poor and don’t have much hopes of anything, a James Bond 007 attache case meant a lot.
That, and parents who loved and believed in you, and taught you that if you worked hard in life, you would succeed. Hard work never hurt anybody.
Looking back now, it was all about us. Providing for us, feeding us, looking after us, no matter how bad we could be. Mom & Dad sure put up with a lot.
Today, of course, we don’t do gifts anymore.
Instead, I ask my ex-wife and my daughter, to instead spend the money on a donation to an animal rescue group.
We have everything we need in life, we don’t need more cheap junk from China, or anywhere else.
To quote UK comedian Ricky Gervais: “If you don’t have empathy with animals, you don’t have empathy.”
Of course, there are many good causes out there, not just animal rescue groups.
And speaking of that … one of my favourite Christmas lessons was during a one-year contract I had at the Calgary SUN, working with a lady named Kathleen (or Kate for short).
She ran the Special Sections department which pulled in big bucks for the paper, and I filled in while her assistant went on pregnancy leave.
Kate was an amazing woman, treating me very well, taking the time to train me to do the job.
I really enjoyed working with her, and even though I was in my mid-50s, I learned a lot along the way. She was a very wise woman, and super kind hearted.
One of the things Kate did, was do toy reviews in the months leading up to Christmas.
Toy makers would send her toys, and she would review every single one, making sure they got ink and a photo in the paper.
Naturally, her small office would be packed to the rafters by the time Christmas rolled around. She made sure to lock her office as well, to make sure no Grinches would sneak in and take anything.
And then came the day. We were taking every single toy to YW Calgary, an emergency domestic crisis centre — to help out those families affected by family violence.
We had to phone ahead, and, get permission for me to attend as well, due to their security policy.
We loaded up a big vehicle with tons of brand new toys, never touched.
Delivering them to the friendly staff at YW Calgary.
Consider, that Kate had been doing this for years and years. Donating thousands of dollars worth of new toys to the shelter.
She didn’t have to do this — she added it to her job. And it became an annual thing.
Imagine if all of us added something like this to our job — a way to give back.
If only the big oilpatch execs in Cowtown who drive Aston Martins and Ferraris on weekends, would dip into their pockets, and give a little something back too.
Remember when rich members of our community would build libraries, museums and music venues? <Sigh>
Kate was paid well, but nowhere near what an oilpatch person makes. None of us do, to be honest. But she had a bigger heart than all of them put together.
And taught me about the person I would like to be.
I can only urge you, to choose your favourite cause this Christmas season, and take action — even if it’s $10, $20 or $50, everything helps.
Reach inside you, and find that generous spirit, and then give.
Merry Christmas, and thanks for reading my columns.
To donate to YW Calgary, go online at:
https://www.ywcalgary.ca/programs-services/shelter-housing