OT - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

[Scott64A]

This morning started out like most; up and at 'em, got in the truck and headed to work with the usual things occupting my mind, (debt, bills, how we're going to afford Christmas gifts, etc,) and I turn on the radio.

The station was a Christian station here in Atlanta called The Fish, and I really only have it on because they play a lot of GOOD Christmas music -I'm not a big fan of "Christian music", though I love the message.
Well, this man had called in to tel the REAL story behind "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

This story hit me in the gut and I just had to share; I'll try to recount it the best I can, so I paraphrase:

In November of 1938, a man named Bob, (forgot the last name, sorry,) was working as a copywriter for a big dept. store in Chicago. He was reading the paper when his 4-year-old daughter jumped up in his lap and pushed the paper aside. She asked why her mommy wasn't like all the other mommies, and never went outside with her, took her to the park, etc. Well, it broke his heart, because her mommy had been fighting cancer for three years and was rapidly succumbing to the disease. He decided to write her a story and give it to her for Christmas. He wrote "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" gto show her that people can be different; God has a plan for everyone and being different isn't such a negative thing.
Over the coming month, he wrote the story as we know it, and fleshed out the book with pictures, etc. The last two pages of the original book had been messed up with tear stains because he lost his wife just before Christmas but had to finish the book.
at the company Christmas party, his friend read it to the whole company, and the CEO liked it so much, he bought the rights. For five years, every child that sat on Santa's lap recieved a copy of that book, and finally, in 1945 a publisher decided he needed to bring this book to the world. In an act of benevolence, the dept. store GAVE the rights back to Bob.
It became the most popular children's book in that year.

By the early 50's, a songwriter decided to put it to music and pitched it to a handful of big-time artists, but Doris Day, Burl Ives, and even Bing Crosby wouldn't touch it.

Gene Autry's wife heard the story of this book, and insisted he do the song, and he did.

So that's how the story and the song came to be. It just goes to show what a seemingly small gift out of love can do, and it ties right into God's gift to all of us in His son Jesus.

This story moved me to tears, and I had to sort of hide from other motorists on the way in while I just absorbed and felt it.

-And to think, I was just complaining about credit cards... I have nothing to complaibn about.

[Rusty]

No need to hide it Scott. Big boys don't cry, but big men do.


Rusty <><

[Ysabel Kid]

Thanks for sharing that Scott - I'll have to share that with my wife tomorrow.