My Dad was so proud – and I so disappointed



Mine was smaller with no bag on back.

 I only remember two Christmas Gifts as a child. One was a bicycle, which was fantastic. It was an English style, which in the fifties meant it had hand activated brakes. All North American bikes had pedal brakes that worked when you pushed backwards on the pedals. I was the only one in our town to have an English style bicycle, and although it was only a three quarter size – it could really move. The only problem about getting a bike for Christmas in Northern Alberta is you had to wait until late spring to ride it. But, that did not stop me from spending most of Christmas day riding it in the snow. This was by far the best Christmas present I ever received as a child. The other gift that I remember very well was a Lionel electric train! (I think I was around 12 and we indeed had electricity now) I was so excited when I opened it. The box had a picture of a train, drawn in such a way as to show the great speed it was traveling, rushing through the countryside. When I put the track together it was a small circle (fit on the kitchen table) and had an engine, one car and a caboose, which together, took up a quarter of the track. Once I hooked the wires from the transformer onto the tracks and turned the switch – off it went, around and around and around in this little circle. Now, I could tell when I opened the gift how proud my Dad was that he had purchased it for me. I realized immediately that I was only going to enjoy watching this thing go around and around and around for a very short period of time. But I made sure, for the next few weeks, that I took the train out every day (when my Dad was around) and watched it go around and around and around. I wonder, if my Dad watching his gift just going around and around and around, was a little disappointed too.