![\"chemistry](\"http:\/\/kelolandblogs.com\/lundatlarge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/chemistry-ralphie-333x500.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI was one of those who actually went to see the film when it first came out in theaters in 1983 and have seen it at least once every year since.<\/p>\n
From the opening scene to the closing credits, the movie takes me back to my own childhood..especially when I was ten.
\nBut instead of the Red Ryder carbon action 200 shot range model air rifle that Ralphie wanted for Christmas, \u00a0I had my heart set on \u00a0a Gilbert chemistry lab with 561 exciting experiments for years of fun and adventure.
\nI don\u2019t know if my desire for that chemistry set was based on a healthy scientific curiosity or the early warning signs of becoming a terrorist but the thought of mixing chemicals together really sounded like fun.
\nI pulled out all the stops to try convince my mom that this wasn\u2019t a toy but an educational tool that could one day lead to my finding a cure for cancer or at very least a formula for removing corns.
\nBut just like Ralphie Parker was repeatedly admonished by his mother, teacher and even Santa himself\u2026\u201dyou\u2019ll shoot your eye out\u201d.. my mom\u2019s response to the chemistry set argument was \u201cyou\u2019ll blow the house up.\u201dSo I wasn\u2019t expecting much that Christmas Eve in 1956 when after supper, my parents along with several of my aunts and uncles found seats in the living room around the Christmas tree (provided free each year from Haas & Wolfe Lumber Yard) then called us kids in to open presents.
\nAfter going through a few packages containing socks, some new jeans and a couple other gifts parents think kids really want and appreciate, it was over. There were no more presents with my name on them.
\nThen, just like Ralphie\u2019s old man, my dad couldn\u2019t stand looking at the disappointment on my face any longer and motioned for me to check under the davenport. (couch)
\nAnd there it was!
\nI tore off the wrapping and let out a whoop when I saw the name Gilbert on the front of the orange metal box.
\nWe weren\u2019t huggers in my family so my appreciation amounted to a loud \u201cthanks!\u201d
\nSomehow, just like in \u201cA Christmas Story,\u201d dad had overruled mom on the danger factor and had gotten me the absolute perfect Christmas gift.<\/p>\n
Of course he and mom both had second thoughts when later that evening, my cousin Grouse and I cooked up a batch of chemicals in a test tube on the Bunsen burner that the book called \u201ckitty gas.\u201d P.S. Have a favorite Christmas toy story you\u2019d care to share? Click the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alright, the title should have a disclaimer; “Other than the birth of Jesus.” I see TBS is going to run one of my favorite movies of all time, A Christmas Story, 24 hours straight again beginning Christmas Eve. I’m glad. It’s become a tradition and I expect my family and I will find time after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4422"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4422"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11524,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4422\/revisions\/11524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jodystaples.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIt was as if a skunk had sprayed his load directly into the heat vents of the house with an odor so foul that our company left for home early.
\nIt sure was a great gift, though!
\nI still have it sitting on a shelf in my computer room to remind me of that fabulous Christmas some 60 years ago.<\/a>
\nSadly, kids today will likely never know the thrill of owning a chemistry set.
\nEven if companies still make them,\u00a0it\u2019s hard to imagine parents, who won\u2019t let their kids ride a bike unless they\u2019re padded-up like a hockey goalie, would ever allow them to hold a spoonful of powdered iron over an open flame to see the sparks fly or let them shake-up a test tube mixture of\u00a0strontium chloride and aluminum sulphate just to find out what happens.
\nNope..they\u2019ll\u00a0have be content with listening to\u00a0grandpas, like me, tell stories of how we somehow managed to survive those\u00a0dangerous life-threatening toys we got for Christmas\u00a0back in the olden days.<\/p>\n