CHRISTMAS SPIRIT OVER THE YEARS

Christmas is a time for giving and spending with family and friends. At the Sheriff’s Office, it also means helping Seguin PD with its Blue Santa program and doing the Santa Sheriff program with the seven rest homes in Guadalupe County. Bringing a smile to their faces is priceless as we go through the rest homes singing Christmas Carols, passing out care packages, visiting, taking pictures with Santa, and giving out hugs.

I come from a family of 10 kids, so many of the presents were what we needed more than what we wanted. However, my parents were able to get the wants in there from time to time. One particular year, I wanted a pump BB gun, and Santa delivered it. A couple of days later, my brother Aubrey and I were out in the yard with the BB gun. I was trying to figure out how it operated, holding it straight up, when I accidentally pulled the trigger. Much to our surprise, a pigeon fell from the sky and landed at our feet.

In 1969, I became an uncle at 11 years old, and a couple of years later, my brother Dennis wanted to play Santa for three of our nieces and one nephew. Not wanting to miss out on the actio,n my brother Aubrey and I taped deer horns to our head with masking tape (probably why I am bald now) and pulled Dennis through the living room on a red wagon.

Other memories include going to my aunt and uncle’s (Elton and Evelyn Gerth’s) house for Christmas and playing contact football in the oats field where blue jeans turned green.

Christmas, unfortunately, became a time for roll call. In November 1972, I lost my brother Gary to a drunk driver; in September 1975, I lost my Mom. It seemed the Christmas season changed after that. Getting married in 1982 and having two beautiful daughters helped me regain the spirit. In 2009, we lost my niece’s husband, and this past April, we lost a brother-in-law.

Playing Santa has been a rewarding experience. The first time was for a fellow firefighter’s kids. We drove from the MyCue house in McQueeney to my sister’s house by Cibolo. I was waving at all the people who were waving and honking back at us. When we got to my sister Yvonne’s, I told Sherrell to drop me off down the driveway, go up to the house, and tell them I was at work helping fight a grass fire. A few minutes later, I knocked on the door. My nephews and nieces, along with my uncle Reno got all excited. It was a lot of fun as I was calling them by their name, and they were trying to figure out who I was. After about 10 minutes, I heard one of my nephews tell a niece, “I think that’s uncle Arnie. “

At this point, they were jumping on me until I told them I saw uncle Arnie at a grass fire as I was flying over. Not wanting to blow my cover, I enlisted the help of my brother Aubrey. I told him to meet me in the utility room, where he put on the Santa suit. We walked around the back of the house, and I told him to walk down the driveway, where I would pick him up later. As I walked into the house, all the nephews and nieces were all over me, yelling, “it was you, it was you!”

When I asked what they were talking about, they said it was me in the Santa suit. I turned around and pointed at Aubrey walking down the driveway, and I yelled out to him. At that point, Aubrey turned around and waved, shouting Merry Christmas. I will never forget the look on their faces. No doubt one of my favorite Christmases.

I believe it was 2006 –– while driving to church for the Christmas Eve service; we had a small snow flurry. It was the year the coast got a lot of snow. Christi and Laura reminded me they had never seen good snow and wanted me to take them. So December 2007, Sherrell and I took them to Steamboat Springs, where it snowed over 4 feet the first night we were there –– another priceless moment.

Working at the Sheriff’s Office for over 30 years, one of my wishes was to be able to close for a day and bring all the employees together. Unfortunately, working shift work in a 24/7 operation doesn’t allow it. However, we host a Christmas/Appreciation get-together, a time to reflect on the past year and recognize them for their hard work and dedication.

I have learned in the past 64 years that Christmas is a time for giving, being with family and friends, and putting smiles on people’s faces. I have learned to keep the Christmas spirit alive even in bad times. Last year, we had 69 of our family members at our house for Christmas.

Let us remember the real reason for the season. And remember, it’s not how big the tree is or how many presents are under it, but what matters the most is who is around it at Christmas.

Merry Christmas, Arnold.