Philip Shaw » Blog Archive » Big Bruiser 45 Years Hence

Big Bruiser 45 Years Hence

It is difficult to remember some of my Christmas past. I’ve moved a few times in life. The first house I remember was near room 305 at the Lambton Kent Composite School in Dresden. That’s right folks, room 305. Where it is now, the old house where I grew up once sat. In 1967, that house was expropriated and our family had to move. A new high school went up and our family moved outside of town.

Those Christmases in that house were magic. Of course I cannot remember much about it now. I’m going to be 50 next month, so that puts that Christmas memories way back into the early 1960′s. The world was different then and so was Christmas.

It was different then because I still believed in Santa Claus. As I walked down stairs to the Christmas tree on Christmas morning it was magical as I turned the corner. The Christmas tree had presents under it but also some toys unwrapped which was a Christmas tradition of our family. My heart raced with glee as I saw what was under the tree. Simply put, expectations were different then, nobody had much and everything was appreciated.

One toy I will always remember was the “Big Bruiser”. It was a dump truck with a winch that actually worked. Batteries powered it and it seems like forbidden fruit, because it cost $29 dollars and I knew I’ve never get that. Simply put it was too expensive, and kids at the time knew when something was too much to ask for. I was one of those kids.

So as I rounded the corner and saw Big Bruiser in the dim light of a Christmas morning, I couldn’t believe it. I had truly believed that was beyond the means of my family. I remember thinking this is so nice. I played with Big Bruiser whole day and in fact, after 45 years I’ve still got Big Bruiser. It now sits in my shop; I’m still unwilling to give it away after hoping for it so much.

As time moved on I moved to Guelph and Christmas had more to do with a break from studies. Sure I played a lot of basketball and who knows, maybe I even dated a bit. However, Christmas was still a family event. For years on Christmas day, we’d go to our grandparents and visit with aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a wonderful time. Years later my other grandparents moved back to Dresden. We left half way through one celebration and went to another. Food was everywhere, and I very well remember my stomach seemingly bursting at the seams.

Time moved on and so did I. I got married and three years later that marriage failed and subsequently I got divorced. Remarkably, I don’t remember much about that time. However, what I do remember was very pleasant, celebrating Christmas near Bowmanville Ontario with a family who which at one time I called my own. When Christmas 1984 came along and I found myself alone, Christmas seemed to change forever for me. It seemed more a date on a calendar when I bought gifts for everybody and went back to an empty life at night.

Of course over time that changed too. I found myself once again at Guelph and once again studying for another degree. For a very brief period, there was a transition period as my grandparents one by one passed away and our respective families transitioned with it. You know how it goes, when the patriarchs go, families get smaller. It becomes more about genealogy, curiosities in your past. I started bringing A.K.Enamul Haque home for Christmas. You know the rest of that story.

Christmas was a lonely time in those years, however that all changed when I remarried in 1992 and the rest as they say is history. Now, I’m back there wondering how my family feels and thinks about the forbidden fruit of what they think they cannot have. Except in 2008 Big Bruiser has been replaced by high tech electronic gadgetry with very little redeeming value. $29 can be got on credit now, or at last it could before the global economic meltdown. Needless to say, I’m sure kids today, feel many of the same things I felt now so long ago.

As Anna Quindlen said in her recent Newsweek column, “Stuff Is Not Salvation.” Or in other words stuff is no substitute for appreciating what’s real and what’s really important at Christmas time. However, what would my life have been without “Big Bruiser?” I’d wager over time, quite a bit poorer.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 9:27 pm and is filed under At Issue. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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