It is a piece of cut out wood, painted white, black with a bit of green on a bow tie wreath of Snoopy wearing a Cheshire smile sitting on top of a snow man.
I recall sitting at the kitchen table with my brother David and sister Angie while my Mom emptied a box of woodcuts, brushes and tiny plastic tins of paints.
"Choose one," she instructs.
There are only four but I spy Snoopy and snatch him before they have a chance.
I have no idea how old I was but remember being a huge Charlie Brown fan ... well, not really Charlie Brown ... but a Snoopy fan!
That dog was crazy ... kissing Lucy on the lips then getting sick as she complained she'd kissed a dog ... fighting the Red Baron in the bloody red skies over Germany ... entering his dog house in the Christmas decorating contest and winning!
Snoopy was "Joe Cool" as far as I was concerned and somehow through the decades, through each move, marriage, countless trees, storage boxes and caretakers, he's somehow stayed with me.
The other night Sarah pulls out our downsized boxes of decorations and there's Snoopy welcoming me back to my childhood.
We were not a family that painted, assembled puzzles or played together so I have no idea what possessed my Mom to buy the woodcut ornaments but I'm glad she did.
We were a family that got by somehow ... the lights were never cut off as far as I remember ... we ate every night ... I had a bicycle, baseball glove and Basketball.
Every day after school we played outside until 6:00 when my Dad had supper ready and we ate together, then we were strongly encouraged to go back outside until dark ... when we had to be home.
To this day I absolutely hate it when the Government forces us to spring forward and forsake Daylight Savings Time.
There was a tree every year though I have absolutely no recollection of how it got there, who decorated or what happened to it after Christmas.
On Christmas Day we opened presents then went to my Grandparents house where my Mom's eight brothers and sisters and their children and friends gathered.
"Eat Uncle Larry's turkey," my Dad ordered my brother and me "so we can take our's back home."
Nearly a hundred were gathered so it didn't matter as everything got eaten and there was never anything left.
I can remember a smattering of presents ... a snare drum ... a guitar ... and a bean bag chair ... but whatever else was given out of love or obligation has been long forgotten.
There was one Christmas when some folks visited Mom and Dad when David and I entered the kitchen where they sat wearing our pajamas.
"It's only 4:30," whoever it was exclaimed and you boys are already going to bed?"
Forcing a yawn, I tell him we were tired.
They bellow with laughter but David and I went on to bed and try with everything in us to go to sleep so we could wake up on Christmas.
You every try to go to sleep?
It's impossible!
Church services with cantatas instead of sermons, holiday gatherings at other people's houses and Santa Claus holding court in the middle of the Mall round out my childhood recollections.
Snoopy brings these back to me every year.
I'd be remiss too if I didn't explain Snoopy stayed with me when I became the "Professional Christian" of an inner city Church comprised of 5 little old ladies, homeless people, kids from the project and the radical fringe of three different Seminaries in Louisville, KY.
Each year when Christmas rolled around we gathered around the television in the social hall to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" figuring it got the message of the birth of the Savior across far better than anything I could have said.
We ate Dolly Madison Cakes and if you know why then you watched a Charlie Brown Christmas every year too.
We were a funny little congregation.
On the Sunday after "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was on television we had a special worship service where the "Prelude" was the dance music from the show.
You remember ... Dadada Dadada Dudududum!
The thing is every one who could dance, and 3 of the 5 little old ladies certainly couldn't, had to do a step identical to one of the Peanut characters.
Remember?
There was the kid who danced like a walking Zombie!
The other who turned his head from side-to-side, shrugging his shoulders up and down while kicking both legs out at the same time!
One of the twin girls did the happy dance while her sister shook hips, kept both arms straight and down and looked like she was moving heavy pots.
Schroeder tickles the ivories, Pigpen slaps the bass, Snoopy picks the guitar and, I dunno but figure, Linus and Sally snap a mean blanket sounding like drums.
As fun as the start of Church was, and believe me it was fun ... especially if visitors where there ... the climax of the sermon was one of the project kids dressed as a Linus who's dressed like a Shepherd, explaining what Christmas is all about.
"A little more light please," is how he begins.
Then "And there were in the same country Shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone about them, and they were sore afraid ... and the angel said unto them, 'Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people ... for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord ...'"
And Linus shuffles off the stage dragging his blanket ... or in our case a kid from the Projects steals the blanket we'd lent him for the part.
Then ... I got busy being successful ... getting married ... making money ... traveling ... getting divorced ... writing books ... giving speeches ... getting married ... winning awards ... being on national television ... getting divorced ... winning awards for books I'd written ... hobnobbing with rich and famous people ... forever being in hot demand.
Snoopy faded from my life.
The Lord Baby Jesus did too.
So did a lot of other things.
But, every so often, this miracle occurs.
It could be an Angel singing ... I don't know.
But an ornament I painted beside my brother and sister as my Mom did something she never did comes out of the box Sarah's unpacking and ... Snoopy's raised from the dead and childhood memories of Christmas are too.
Or for some reason, I say "Sweet Jesus" and whatever it is that makes me pause to say it doesn't matter because I realize the Lord Baby Jesus has never left my side ... I left his.
Or, I catch the sun bubbling out of the Ocean against a dark purple, blue, yellow sky and it takes my breath away ...
In the dark, lonely night I'm having a bad dream and while still asleep Sarah rolls over and throws her leg on mine and everything's suddenly better ...
or one of my kids whom I haven't spoken with in months calls out of nowhere and it's good ...
Sam Sahr brings Eggnog for everybody for no apparent reason ...
or I come to Bar Church and all of you are here wanting and finding the same things.
Suddenly it's Christmas!
For no apparent reason, other than God loves us and for whatever reason we're lucid enough to recognize it's God giving us love, we rise above our arrogance, stupidity and anger to realize it's Christmas!
Not just now.
Not just tomorrow.
But every day.
