PHOTO OF THE DAY: December 23, 2007

Angel With A Broken Wing

For years and years my dad had two small WWII 50-cal. ammunition boxes stuck back in his stored "stuff." A long time ago, I looked into one of the boxes and it was full of ammo that he used for hunting. I had assumed that the other box also contained ammo. I never looked into the second box, until last week when I was arranging some thing in the barn. What a surprise! In that old ammo box was mom's long missing, but not forgotten, Nativity Scene pieces!

When we were kids growing up in Spokane, at Christmas, my mom always set up the Nativity Scene that she said had belonged to her grandmother. As kids, we really never paid much attention to it, but we knew it meant a lot to her. The last time I remember seeing it was when we lived on Wellington Place. I don't ever remember seeing it again in later years. I once asked my dad if he knew what ever happened to all the old Christmas decorations. He told me he didn't ... and I don't think he really did.

On close examination, each piece is beautifully hand-carved wood. One of the Shepard's is missing his staff and Mary is missing a hand. As I remember, there was once a shelter and a star. Those are missing, too.

The little angel has a wing broken off, but luckily, it was still in the wrapping and will be repaired after Christmas. I couldn't help but wonder if the little angel damaged her wing while trying to escape the metal ammo box. Maybe she somehow sensed the urgent need, in these later years, for her wise help and consolation.

I guess we'll never know: All I can do for her is repair the wing and restore the slightly tarnished beauty of my mother's cherished Nativity Scene.

(