{"id":4514,"date":"2011-12-28T18:24:43","date_gmt":"2011-12-28T23:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4514"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:25:06","slug":"christmas-story-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4514","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Story 2011 (by Storm)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0<\/span>This story started with just the first line repeating in my head and took off from there. I hope I can come up with one each year that’s why the title is what it is. If not…well we’ll leave that to the muses.<\/p>\n

Rated: K+ \u00a0WC \u00a01400<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Christmas Story 2001<\/strong><\/p>\n

Winter came early and hard to Nevada this year and it left Ben Cartwright wondering if he\u2019d be spending Christmas alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll be fine Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked to his old friend Roy Coffee and smiled a faint smile. \u201cI know Roy but a father still worries. Maybe if they were all together I\u2019d feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re big boys Ben, they\u2019ll be fine.\u201d And although Roy was certain of this he was worried too. After all he felt those \u2018boys\u2019 were as much his as they were Ben\u2019s. He\u2019d done his fair share of worrying about them and fretting over them. Did they really believe he enjoyed kicking them out of town? Oh he\u2019d never broken the rules for them, and he never would, but he would admit to bending them now and again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Roy I just wish I could be certain they\u2019d stay where they are until after the New Year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know they won\u2019t. Everyone likes to be home for Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben again smiled at his old friend. He could see the worry he felt reflected in his friends face.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Ben sat and waited. The snow hadn\u2019t stopped falling all day and things were getting even worse out there, if that were possible. Oh God please let him find shelter and stay put.<\/p>\n

Hoss slowly made his way downstairs. \u201cHey Pa maybe he\u2019s not coming.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy? Did you not come?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa I got home two days ago and the weather wasn\u2019t this bad. Besides when I started out I was closer than he was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue Hoss but it didn\u2019t stop you and it won\u2019t stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah but Pa Adam\u2019s smarter than us. Isn\u2019t that what you\u2019re always saying?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe it\u2019s Christmas and your brother will be home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe not Pa. Joe\u2019s right Adam\u2019s got more sense.\u201d Hoss looked to his younger brother pleading for him to come up with some other reason that might get their father to believe them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah beside Adam don\u2019t go in for all this sentimental stuff.\u201d And while Joe knew this might normally be true sometimes at Christmas Adam could be the most sentimental of them all. It was like he could use the season as an excuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, tell me, are you and your younger brother trying to make me feel better by getting me to believe your brother won\u2019t be home or trying to prepare me if he doesn\u2019t come home?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe a little of both Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben didn\u2019t know which would upset him most. While he wanted his son safe he also wanted him home. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you two get on up to bed. Remember Santa can\u2019t come until you\u2019re asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor once Pa it\u2019s not Santa I\u2019m hoping to have come tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook his head and smiled. He knew that no matter how many times Joe claimed he would be better off without his eldest brother around to stick his nose in his business he would be the one to miss him the most if he weren\u2019t around. \u201cI know Joseph. Now go to bed, it\u2019s late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about you Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll just check on things down here Hoss and I\u2019ll be up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll help ya Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss took hold if his brother\u2018s arm. \u201cCome on Joe. Goodnight Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoodnight Hoss. Goodnight Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Adam knew he should have never started out this morning but it was easy to spot ones mistakes when one was looking back at them. He just didn\u2019t want to miss Christmas at home. As silly as that was for a grown man to think it was true.<\/p>\n

Adam rode on knowing he wouldn\u2019t be able to see his hand if he held it out in front of him, but he trusted in his experience. Or maybe tonight of all nights he trusted in his father\u2019s faith and prayers. He was certain his father was praying just as he himself was.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Ben slowly opened his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Pa. Merry Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam? You\u2019re home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Pa. I finally am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled as he hadn\u2019t in a few days. With each son\u2019s return his smile returned a little. Now with the last one safely home it could be as broad as it was known to be. \u201cIt\u2019s good to see you son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss and Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Always the protective big brother Ben thought. \u201cBoth home and in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe better be getting to bed too. You know Santa can\u2019t come until we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSon I have all I need to make this the merriest of Christmases.\u201d
\n********<\/p>\n

They climbed the stairs. Ben following after his son. Perhaps to make sure he got to where he should be. Once at the top Ben headed to his room and Adam to his. Ben noticed that Adam stood with his hand on the doorknob to his room.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there something wrong Adam?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cPa have you ever heard this verse before;<\/p>\n

O fare you well, I must be gone,<\/p>\n

And leave you for a while,<\/p>\n

But wherever I go, I will return,<\/p>\n

If I go ten thousand miles, my dear,<\/p>\n

If I go ten thousand miles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben hoped Adam couldn\u2019t see the expression on his face. \u201cYes I\u2019ve heard it before. Why?\u201d<\/p>\n

While Adam couldn\u2019t see his father\u2019s expression he could hear something akin to disbelief in his voice. \u201cI know it\u2019s going to sound silly but when I first started out I could easily convince myself it wasn\u2019t so bad and it would get better, but as the day wore on it got worse. I couldn\u2019t see a foot in front of me. I was trusting in my instincts and Sports ability to find his way back to his nice, warm stall. Then I heard a women\u2019s voice singing that song. The words were faint at first and I turned Sport and headed towards it. I was certain any lady out in that weather was in trouble. Funny thing is she didn\u2019t sound frightened. Her voice was strong and calm and it helped to calm me down. I kept following her voice telling myself she needed my help. Truth is Pa I needed hers. I needed to find her. I needed to see another human being because I was becoming certain I was the only one left on earth. I never got close enough to see her. Her voice never got too loud and whenever it got faint I\u2019d turn until it got loud again. It was just before I got here, just when I recognized where I was, that I called out to her. I then wondered why I hadn\u2019t done so before. I called out that we would be okay because I knew where we were. I told her that we were almost home. I don\u2019t know why I said we and not I but I swear I heard her say she already was. I didn\u2019t hear her any more after that and I looked around once I\u2019d reached where I knew she had to be but there was no trace of anyone having been there. Even with the way the snow had been falling I would have found some trace. I called out to her but there was no answer so I guess it must have been the wind and I must have imagined the words.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you just said you\u2019d heard the song before. If I\u2019d only imagined it then how could you have heard it before?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps you remembered it. That was one of your mother\u2019s favorite songs; she sang it all the time. It was called The True Lover\u2019s Farewell. Maybe she sang it to you and somewhere you remembered it and used it to give yourself comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Pa\u2026well maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoodnight son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c \u2018Night Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Ben leaned back against his closed bedroom door. He was well aware that Adam\u2019s mother, his first wife Elizabeth, had never sung that song to their son. She hadn\u2019t had the time. He also knew that Adam was aware of this. Ben also knew that his logical son would choose to believe this obvious fabrication over the only other alternative.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Elizabeth. Thank you for seeing him safely home.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Ben realized each of his sons had a guardian angel that had seen them safely home. Adam\u2019s just had to make herself a little more conspicuous to be noticed and followed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0This story started with just the first line repeating in my head and took off from there. I hope I can come up with one each year that’s why the title is what it is. If not…well we’ll leave that to the muses. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Rated: K+ \u00a0WC \u00a01400<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":3478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","wpcat-23-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":749,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14187,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14187","url_meta":{"origin":4514,"position":0},"title":"Bonanza Christmas Story (by Anne G)","author":"AnneG","date":"December 18, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"Synopsis: The four Cartwrights, separated just before Christmas, keep running into this family that make it possible for them to once again understand the true meaning of Christmas. 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