A Christmas Story, our family's favorite movie

Oh my, this is a funny and touching movie, with many scenes in it that are seared into my memory. Some years it is on tv constantly, and we bought a copy for backup. The setting is a town in Indiana in the 1940s, during the Christmas season. This is a story from the point of view of Ralphie, a nine year boy.

You may have your favorite movie moments from A Christmas Story. The scene of the boy whose tongue freezes to the flagpole, and Ralphie with the bar of soap in his mouth are not possible to forget. For funny scenes the younger brother was so swaddled in his snowsuit that when he falls down he can not get up on his own. To keep him warm his mom put so many layers of clothes on him that he cannot put his arms down at his side.

Amazing scenes, and add to this Ralphie's desperate craving, nay need, to own a Red Ryder carbine action BB gun, and Ralphie hearing "you'll shoot your eye out" so often from every responsible adult. He poured out his heart in an essay he wrote for school about how he should have the rifle, hoping his teacher will concur.

The dad is called The Old Man and he has a whacky pride in the bizarre lamp that he won. I have seen replicas of the lamp for sale in catalogs.

Sit back and enjoy.

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

Whether you've watched The Christmas Story or not, you'll recognize that phrase in its relationship to a BB gun. I love watching the DVD of the movie, The Christmas Story (followed closely by Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). It reminds me of the Christmas my brother got his BB gun and yes, the caution every time he took it outside was, "Be careful you don't shoot an eye out!"

The movie was filmed in Cleveland and used the old Higbee building that now stands fairly empty except for some offices, I believe. It was a big deal to get dressed up and go shopping, see Santa, and then have lunch at the Silver Grille. For dessert, there was always a scoop of ice cream with chocolate syrup and whipped cream topped with a cherry and decorated with a paper parasol. Even at an early age I was intrigued by mysteries. When you took the parasol apart, there was Chinese writing on the paper that was made into a roll that slid up and down to open the parasol. I imagined it was secret code.

Suburban malls have taken the place of that Christmas shopping experience where the lights of the city, the window decorations and that special lunch were something that made memories.

What movies spark childhood memories for you?

(If you go to this site and scroll down a bit you can see a picture of Higbee's at Christmas in 1952. I would have been five, dressed in something velveteen, with little white gloves, if I remember my mother's tastes. Okay, do the math--I'm old.)

Jean Shepherd's A Christmas Story

Oh my, this is a funny and touching movie, with many scenes in it that are seared into my memory.

Some are quite horrible, in fact. The boy whose tongue freezes to the flagpole, Ralphie with the bar of soap in his mouth, the younger brother so swaddled in his snowsuit that when he falls down he can not get up on his own.

Amazing scenes, and then Ralphie's desperate craving, nay need, to own a Red Ryder carbine action BB gun, and Ralphie hearing "you'll shoot your eye out" so often from every responsible adult.

The dad is called The Old Man and he has a whacky pride in the bizarre lamp that he won.

This is only the tip of the iceberg of the zaniness herein.
Sit back and enjoy.