AWAY FROM HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

First, I want to say that I have NEVER been away from my family on a holiday. Until now. Until Thanksgiving.

But my BFF (best friend forever) husband Charlie and I have spent 16 summer vacations in Branson MO. and have never seen that town gussied up for the Christmas holidays. So this year, BFF said “Let’s leave on Thanksgiving Day and come home on the following Sunday. Let’s see the Ozark Country Christmas.”

I was touched. Of course, I was a little less touched when I found out that World of Outlaws  Champion Danny Lasoski    http://www.dannylasoski.com/ was going to be racing in Springfield Mo ( a mere 45 minutes north of Branson) on Saturday night. BFF loves sprint cars. And he loves racing. As a matter of fact, BFF used to race stock cars in our area on a half-mile dirt track. So he thought we might drive out to the track to see what was up. (Translate: we took our stadium seats and clothing suitable for weather in the high 20’s.)

The trip to Branson wasn’t as eventful as our summer sojourn. Then, we took our children and grandchildren (and our oldest daughter’s peach of a mother-in-law)  thirty of us , and headed south through the worst flooding Southeast Kansas and Western Missouri had seen in decades. We detoured and zigged and zagged over the last part of the 800 mile route. But the Thanksgiving trip (thankfully) was uneventful.

We arrived in Branson and checked in at our motel (not the one where we usually stay…we decided to be adventurous.) It was a Victorian-looking thing, a bit shabby and faded, but the turbaned man who checked us in was friendly. BFF fixed the curtain

(which draped and dipped…supported by only two hooks) in our room.

Then we headed off to The Branson Landing. We’d heard that they were hosting a free concert Thanksgiving Day: performers from “The Legends” theater who do a phenomenal “Blues Brothers” and another group doing a tribute to ‘The Eagles.”

The concert was great…short, but great. The wind whipped our coats and bent the water rising from the Landing fountain display. But the faces in the crowd were warm and friendly. People living in the apartments over the Landing lanes sat on their balconies, wrapped in blankets, and rocked out with the music.

We ate lunch in a Chinese fast food place…one of the few businesses open at Branson Landing on the holiday. The menu was limited, but the line of hungry patrons laughed and visited while waiting for their plates of chicken or…chicken.

Afterward, we set our course for our favorite Branson place: Silver Dollar City. We expected shorter lines than usual, and smaller crowds. We were wrong on both counts. The moms and dads, grandparents and kids queued up at the trolley stop eyed the long open trains from the parking lots to the park with avarice. Little ones were so bundled up, they resembled “Ralphie” from “A Christmas Story.”  One tiny girl had forgotten gloves and another family pulled out an extra pair they had and gave them to her.

Silver Dollar City is magical any time of year, but visitors to the City during the holidays can’t help but go through “sensory overload.” Over three million lights outline turn-of-the-century buildings and frame pavilions. The lanes through the city glow and the stores promise warmth and whimsy, filled with holiday merchandise.

We rushed to see the “Christmas Homecoming” concert to catch one of my favorites, Tracy Heaston, at the piano. He wasn’t at the first performance, though, so we stayed for the show and then caught a later one, too. After the concert, we strolled past the barns and homestead and made our way around to ride “Fire in the Hole.” Something was missing. I felt strange standing there in the cold. Then it hit me…the toe-tapping Bluegrass they pipe through the “City” streets in the summer was gone. The night was still. Quiet. Contemplative.

We bypassed the holiday saloon show…so many people lined up in the cold wind that we despaired of getting in. Next, on our itinerary, was the live performance of “A Christmas Carol.” It was delightful. So many talented musicians in one place…and eye-popping special effects. We laughed at the FUNNY (not just amusing) lines and cried during Tiny Tim’s solo. And in another building there was a live nativity, too…more music and wonderful narration in a beautiful replica of Bethlehem .

We sat quietly in the Wilderness Church, in the glow of a gorgeous Christmas tree, thinking about that most famous of Silent Nights. Coming out, we were just in time for a another tree: this one, three stories tall dressed in lights that pulse to holiday music. After the last notes of the music died away and the tree lights settled down to a steady gleam, the parade came past…lighted floats and costumed characters and, of course, Old Saint Nick himself.   

The next morning, we shopped…filled the car with bags and boxes and checked off our Christmas list. That night was free. No obligations. So we booked a show. (In Branson? How innovative!) BFF and I had seen Pierce Arrow on the Branson Showcase TV program. Like the song says, “They had us from ‘hello.”  They do a bang-up job of country and gospel, specializing in the kind of harmonies that made the Eagles famous. And the show comedian is “laugh-‘til-your-gut-splits” funny. He pokes a bit of fun at preachers without making fun of faith.  “Open up your Bibles to anywhere. I’ll be there directly.” And if you get offended? “Wah, wah, wah. Get over it,” is his response. “Denominations didn’t get you where you are, and they sure

won’t get you where you want to go.”   

 Afterward, we drove through Branson’s Festival of Lights. There is enough wattage on that back street to light up a Little Jimmy Dickens wardrobe. (Look him up. He wore rhinestones.)

Checking out of our motel Saturday morning, we told the nice man in the turban that we hadn’t signed anything for our charges. His smile stretched half way to Nashville.

“Yase,” he said. I Know. I Know. Thenk yew. Good bye. Good bye.”

In Springfield , we met some of our “kids,” Cindy and Brandon Beck ( KY3’s weatherman) for lunch. Then we did the “race thing.”

Lasoski was great, we didn’t freeze our…anythings off. A win-win proposition for me and BFF.

When we Beyonders were in grade school, the first essay of the new school year was often “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.”  Well, I’ve had lots of practice at essays in the meantime, but not many nicer vacations. If you’ve never seen the Ozarks, you should go. If you’ve never seen them at Christmas, you need to go. Your holiday spirit will thank you.

see the link at the bottom of this page.

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