PRI Public Radio International following program voices of the West a production of the western Folklife Center is made possible by the Utah travel Council Utah's Frontier Heritage is as varied as a red rock and Alpine Landscaping Utah travel council is found on the world wide web at utah.com additional support comes from the ark Harold Burton Foundation. Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh. Hey jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way. The first Christmas that I remember was tied to the trading post man. It was a time of the Trading Post Man became very nice and would bring his ass layout and he would come to the Community Hall everybody around you know. Times was tough when I was a kid. It was fairly sensible Christmas. We've got oranges and candy. we always were taught that there was a Santa Claus but the Santa Claus was supposed to be the spirit of giving we always hang up our stalking and we always got a few gifts and things under there was always an orange in the toll. British think there's Santa Claus burger with that. We're just big old kids all of us out here in the wide open spaces. We sometimes grow up as wild as our horses and is open to possibilities of soul and Merry Christmas to you. I'm how Cannon Did you ever get off on a freeway exit out in the vast expanse of the West you get out of the car and smell the sagebrush in the air and you look around you and there's nothing as far as you can say knife in the distance. You might see at a light burning and you wonder who could live out there. Well, that's what this show is all about. Its people like myself who live out in Those Distant ranges no matter where you are. This Christmas season. I'd like to invite you out west for the next hour. I'd like to show you around my part of the world and introduce you to some of my friends show you their traditions and show you a little bit about how we celebrate Christmas will hear from some of the best Cowboy poets and storytellers around people like waddie Mitchell & Back Ramsay. We're going to visit a one-room schoolhouse for a cow kids wish list for Christmas and we're going to listen to some great Down Home music of the West for the holidays from bunkhouse. Isn't Ranch kitchens and of course what Christmas would be complete without Gene Autry and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Don't worry. We won't let you down. You're listening to a cowboy Christmas. almost free I see nothing of a lot of cowboys Christmas song. ICU flow at the ranch be still and know Saint Nick with his back. All this wet Hood night. We wish her happy birthday. To the city of your yours and mine. Give me the rain. for my present I'll sing from June. It was a cowboy Christmas. I can't think of a better Cowboy to get us started the my old buddy Baxter Black. He's known to a lot of you folks for his commentaries on national public radio, but a lot of people don't know the Baxters a full-time Cowboy poet and he's also one of the best red Poets of art. I'm right behind. Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein but he started his career as a large animal veterinarian. I remember the first time I heard about Baxter some Cowboys have come in from Simplot. They have the story of this veterinarian who was one heck of a Storyteller not much of a vet. They said that he knew how to get everyone else do his job. He'd set up there on the rail the fence and start telling Yarns of every description. And the Cowboys would just do all of his work sorting cows and preg test in Baxter with just tell stories is known as the Tom Sawyer Cowboy Poetry. Well, he had encaptivated back then to now here with one of his best love poems for the holidays Baxter Black and Rudolph's night off. Twas the Night Before Christmas Rudolph of lame the bed from the North Pole said put rocks to blame. I'll give him some sulfur that's the best I can do, but great Scott Bridal Santa returned with a jerk. I won't get through. Of my headlights don't work on Interstate 40. I'll surely get finding lost in Montana. If I'm Flying Blind, no cop in his right mind would giving a cloud to gaze route playing that his reindeer went down. So I gathered the others old Donner and Blitzen. Are there any among them whose nose was transmission they granted I'm strained. I'm sure made a mess but no noses glowed. Brightly or ears Luma Nest. It's bad luck and bunches Drive Santa just rest. I'll fly Continental Red Eye Express. I just checked the schedule he put on his glasses on up stepped old Billy the goat from Lampasas. He shivered and should like a mouse on The Arc his horns for a beacon. They close the dark. Sandy went crazy. He asked why was a smile to watch with a radium dial where I come from in Texas. We don't have thick hide my skin is so smooth meme side. If that's true. Then that's feeding cried. Sandy was please gather everything burning and bring it to me. So Billy 8 flash bulbs and solar collectors electrical eels road sign reflectors firecrackers firecrackers lady Schick shaver in Lifesavers, all of them Wintergreen flavor in jelly from Faust Restless fishing Dayglo Pizza in a glittering deshane kennels and fireflies and something nice. Big bowl of Northern Lights. He danced on the rug and peddled the cat and after it finished and done all of that to store up the static electricity better. They forced him to eat two balloons in the sweater. When he opened his mouth like fell on the floor like the fridge light comes on when you open the door is Halloween the smile couldn't be better drawn when he burped accidentally his high beams kicked on Saturday and they went on their way and I remember that Christmas to this very day. This guy was Ablaze with the stars shining bright. They were shooting and falling all through the night and I realize now how my fingers are crossed but I really was seeing was old Bailey's exhaust. And I've heard a lot of Baxter Black poems over a decade ago. We started something called The Cowboy Poetry Gathering people like Baxter Black and watee Mitchell where they're helping us set up chairs and I remember watee turning to me after we had about 80 folding chairs up and he said hey Pard, if we set up any more chairs were just going to embarrass ourselves. Well, the chairs filled up and they've kept filling up now annually in Elko Nevada 8000 people make a pilgrimage to hear Cowboy Poetry two of the leading lights of cowboy poetry or Baxter Black and watee Mitchell waddie. Mitchell used to be a cowboy full-time just like Baxter and he worked on the most remote ranches in Northeastern, Nevada. Today water spends over 300 days a year to we're going on the road performing those same poem xiidra side around the campfire. When I first knew you Wadi every year I get a Christmas card from you. You'd be back in these very remote ranches. And these Christmas cards were my favorite. They had a wonderful illustration you did in a Christmas poem every year and I treasure those I still have them in fact tell me about those days. Will part that's when I was making Cowboy wages and and flat couldn't afford to buy the card. So our buy presents for the folks that I wanted to do. So I thought maybe I could give a little bit of myself if I wrote some Christmas stories down and you know, it took a little time made a card out of it and I'm glad you still got them. I miss those days too in the time I had to do that stuff a lot of time. That's a One thing that I I love and I thought I have a romantic vision of is the kind of time that clocks don't mean nothing remember those days. So yeah, why do I ever miss him too? Yeah, those were the times when you lived by the seasons and not by the winter time slowed down quite a bit for the cowboy how you can only work when it was lighting. Don't mean if it was 40 below you had certain things you had to go do take care of the stock in the animals, but you didn't find things to do when it was in the middle of the winter. And so we had a lot of time to Rawhide and read right things like that. And and those were special days. Yeah. One of my favorites was the one you wrote about the Christmas at the cross. Now I live about well, I guess I'm only seven or eight miles from the Cross Ranch, but at the time I had no idea where the cross was, but you wrote a real nice poem about some cowboys that had some time on their hands and one of them made some nice presents for his partners. What was the life working down there in the winter time? I know the wind can come across your pretty severe l i remember quite a few times at winter that being said on the radio that it was the coldest place in the nation real hand starting horses out in the round Corral and sometimes Mo cotton rope should beef roast if you could pick up a 12 ft length of rope and sticks straight out there. Will you grow up on ranches around Nevada? Wadi Musa like being a kid out on a ranch hand? And your young Days Grill that's hard for me to say. Do you know it's hard for me to compare it to anything cuz that's that's what it was is that that's where I was but it was good. I look at look at that as compared to what my kids have. I I didn't have peer pressure. I was mostly around adults and so probably got to thinking and talking and being more interested in the things the adults were sooner. But then again I also had the chance to be kind of the kid that maybe some of some of the kids nowadays don't get it be because I had no pressure to be anything but who I was and what I feel like doing so there's good things and bad things about it, but I think the good things weigh Outweigh the bad one time you talked about that you told me about how Santa Claus stays around a lot longer for kids on ranches than it does for kids in the city. How did that all work out for you? Why was living down in the Bruneau Canyon at the time and was 44 miles of dirt road to get to Grasmere and it's just a little ol one building stop. They're coming out in the middle of nowhere, but it did have a phone. So I'd have to drive out that 44 miles to use. The phone is getting towards winter time. And where is kind of thing about Christmas and I showed up there and Albert barinaga who runs the cows with a j r Simplot out in that country was in there and he's real friendly guy. We got to visit and I just kind of had something on my mind. My oldest boy was going to turn 8 years old and I didn't know at what time I should tell him the Realities of Santa Claus, so I asked him I said Alberta. How old are you? When when you found out about Santa Claus and he said I don't know 1415. I guess that kind of amazed me. I thought holy mackerel. How can you go 14 or 15 years? You know, they said well, we you know, I grew up real remote and my folks are really into it and they would do things one year. We found a little piece of red cloth on the fire grate in on these convinced. There were tracks in the ashes in there and everything and he said it's not like today where you go to town and see 12 different Santa Clauses in the day at the mall or or where Santa Claus comes and visits you at the school and then visit you at the 4-H club and then visit you at home or at a neighbor's house. You know, he was a pretty mysterious spelling. We never saw him but in pictures than in the magazine And then with what my folks doing, in fact, he said one year they went so far as to get up there or sold add foot two-by-fours on his feet and got up on the front porch and slid them two by fours alone made it look like slate racks in there and is he done that he has a couple sheet feet in his in his hands and he made a bunch of reindeer tracks up there in this knowing. He says I guarantee you when I saw that I was convinced, you know, because I was about half a Tracker anyway, and I was really convinced else and he had been up there on that roof. And so with that It made me it made me really think about how long I should put off doing that then it it put it off for at least another year before I told my son. Who wrote a real nice poem about a Christmas letter one-time another true story how I was at the my mom's house and I was going through my mom's junk drawer for something. I needed bad and I come across some sure enough Treasures things. I didn't know she had I found this faded letter that made me stop and pause. It was a letter from a six-year-old to Dear Old Santa Claus. It started out from regular how he'd been good and such and the presents he was asking for do not amount to much cuz what he really wanted you see more than that trinket or two words to get old Sammy. Let him be a real life Buckaroo. He said he didn't know too much but he's quick to learn didn't matter where he throws his bed or how much do either I'm just so he could ride a horse punched cows all his life and when he growed up big like that he wanted Cowboys why? And then it really struck me when the kid had signed his name that the author and the reader of this letter was the same. So I sat and wrote a thank-you note to Santa for the gift. He give to a child back in 56 in the life you let me live. Real nice. Christmas is always been a special time. I remember the best family times. We had was around Christmas and and the best the very best extended family times were around Christmas. I probably saw more my grandparents at that time of year than any other time. I probably saw Neighbors in a different light when they'd come bearing gifts and good things to eat and I always had wonderful Christmas stories read into an impressionable kid the story stuck because we didn't have TV to watch we didn't have much radio. Our entertainment was from the visiting that we got over here the folks do or or just a child's play I was involved with and so yeah, they were very very special times to me. He wrote a poem just recently. I don't believe you've really performed around her read much about the the gift of rain. This this came about right after I had reread the great novel the time it never rained by Elmer Kelton my good friend and wonderful author out in Texas, and I'm sure it was that book that inspired this. I was asked to write a poem kind of to do with twist the Night Before Christmas. Twas the Night Before Christmas on the west Texas playing the ranch should been suffering from a much-needed rain still spiritual High when kids bedded that night is their mother and I were assessing are plaid. We figured 4 hours the money we need to sustain the cattle with supplement feed her figures confirmed. We would have to sell out if there soon one coming into this drive. Resigned these facts we arose from the table to put out. The few gifts are small budget medieval the Bounty this year would be pitifully small when we noticed an open Pentax. The wall is red, please Dear Santa we'd rather you'd bring instead of some toys just one needed thing some rain for the country. So the grass grow tall we recognized be the best present of all might keep us from having to move from this place and I noticed her mom with a tear from her face. We're blessed in spite of our trouble. She said we hugged and held hands as we went off to bed. We just woke next on to some young shouts of Glee Mommy Daddy, please hurry. Come see we know he was real would hear our requests. They pointed to heavy black clouds to the West we were jumping and shouting and dancing around on the first precious drop started hitting the ground then all of a sudden the clouds seem to burst his The soil was quenching. It's terrible thirst and from that Christmas song. Our whole family will claim that the best present ever was West, Texas Rain. amen They'll be singing going to be saying and Christmas by the old Corral. Play I love bread hungry Jaden and exchanging greetings by the old little children and how big their eyes will be when they see what Santa left around the tree. They will be bringing those Merry Christmas carols by the Remember that voice from the past that was Tex Ritter singing Christmas carols by the old Corral. One thing that's wonderful. Chris Messer, the Myriad of tradition that never change music stories wish list for Santa Claus. One of the most powerful experiences of Christmas for me is seeing the holiday Through The Eyes of children. So what grades do we have here? second graders second grade Wow, this to room Schoolhouse is populated with a handful of kids who come from as far as 40 miles away is Dirt Road in each Direction. Not much moisture here in the branches are spread out over a hundred miles of mountain range settled in each little drainage that comes out of the mountains. Sometimes during the Christmas season you can get up to four or five feet of snow in the Ruby Valley and you have to imagine there's just one road that goes along the mountains in this High Desert when there's four or five feet of snow. They plowed one lane and sometimes the snow piles up. So you're almost in a white tunnel going down this beautiful Valley. Let's go inside warm up in this Ruby Valley school house and get in the Christmas spirit. What was your favorite Christmas? The year before last year and we have lots of snow. Is that little bit taller than me? Yeah, what's on your list of stuff? You want Spurs at school. Tell me about the Spurs you like. You can be a cowboy Santa coming tonight. Jack Burton pricing you heard that in the middle of the night has my dad been thinking about presents and all. Have you been thinking about getting a Christmas tree in about? Do write everything in cursive? That that could really bring you down for Christmas, huh? Delta where you want me to talk to you for a minute. What do you want for Christmas? Wow, can you even pick up radio out here and Ruby Valley? Do you like to listen to music? What kind? Jingle Bells Well, it's good to meet you guys and I'll talk to you later and have a Merry Christmas. Okay? Play My Ding-a-Ling Ding-A-Ling Ding-A-Ling Ding-A-Ling song. Ouray something pretty big Various folks the great Cowboy swingmaster Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys with Santa's on his way. But most famous cowboy Christmas song of all time has to be Gene Autry's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Did you know that it was the second best-selling recording of all-time believe it or not? It almost didn't get recorded. Here's Gene Autry himself to tell you the tale. The reason I almost didn't do it was I have three numbers that I was going to record and my wife I know said we were Jean I think you ought to reconsider that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer said that Everyone likes the underdog and said that line in there, they wouldn't let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games said that I think that they do the kids were like that when he comes to the rescue of Santa Claus, so we went in to record it and I recorded the three numbers and we had about 20 minutes to go. In those days by we would try to do for in the session. So the A&R man came out and you said what you going to do the next time? So I said well Carl my Ranger I said bring out Rudolph. You're listening to a cowboy Christmas on Public Radio International. I'm Al Cannon. you know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose and if you ever saw it you would even say it goes All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games then one foggy Christmas eve Santa came to say Rudolph with your nose so bright won't you guide my sleigh tonight? Then how the reindeer loved him as they shot it up with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. You'll go down in his story. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose. And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows all of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games then one foggy Christmas eve Santa came to say Rudolph with your nose. So bright won't you guide my sleigh tonight? Then how the reindeer loved him as the shout it off with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. You'll go down in his story. About a month ago my friend Sue Wallace and her brother Frank stop by with an early Christmas gift a Christmas cactus Palace in the tiny little Ranch Community of deeth, Nevada with an armful of cactus for the holidays is the color of my 1950 Studebaker truck and it sort of look like a Lego version of a cactus. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's almost an oxymoron a Christmas and Cactus blooms in the winter time. It's a very popular old fashioned house plant and our great grandmother brought the original plant to Montana when she was married from, Illinois. Farmer City, Illinois, I think he's from and I think they got married in 1880 or 1898 or 1899 right in there. Are you kidding me till this the same characters not this particular plan is not that old. But from where this plant came from. This particular plan is from a cutting. From my mom who got it from Aunt May in Montana who got it from Grandma. Myrtledale, Cena and Aunt May's is about 50 years old and is drunk sex in process balls. So this is a new one of an old plan. I mean, I always kill plants and I'm not I've really I'm not going to try to kill this one. But somebody is kept this one plant alive since the 1880s since the turn of the century probably so you your family was that mean they always had ranches in Wyoming right and Montana, so no, actually my great-grandfather was already in Montana and he was working on ranches and what he do is he gathered up a bunch of wild horses and put them he green break them or get just get them started and he would take him to Illinois and sell them to the farmers and he met our grandmother back there and they courted through the mails for a long time and she agreed to marry him so she came to meet him on the train. In the story is that he met her in Billings off the train with Bronx on the buggy and that the Bronx ran off when he went to pick her up from the train when they got married at the store. So she may have had this cactus in her arms as you got off the train I think so, that's the story. I feel a tremendous responsibility is beautiful and it's going to bloom Inn at Christmas is pretty cool and don't water too much. I've been looking at that Cactus and no blossoms this year, but I'm not going to give up on it. I think next year. I'll have some beautiful white blooms on my Cactus for Christmas. And once again, I'll be reminded of my holiday gift that originally arrived at the turn of the century with a Young Bride from Kansas. Now I want to play an extraordinary recording. This is a song written by Buck Ramsey. He's a poet has written some of the great stories about The Cowboy Way of Life recently. I accompany back to the White House to see him honored with a National Heritage award there a dozen Americans were honored by first lady Hillary Clinton as National Treasures Treasures of American folk Arts the buck represent the heritage of cowboys, his roots are from a real family in West Texas with religious upbringing and upbringing which included shape note singing DuckTales me the Ramsey family regularly sing Christmas songs in this ancient Style. I think Wanda just start singing about 3 years old and when she was five and Joyce was three she talked to us singing when they were. 7 and 5/8 Elena singing then when I got a little older and Sylvia came along like daughter singing get filled in the parts. I was just kind of sneaking around the edges Leia. Make Mama come get me all the time when they were trying to practice and take me away. So I wouldn't bother influence. When I grew up I was the Ramsey sisters little brother and I felt a kind of Basques in their Glory. I felt really proud of that. But they don't get sing together very much. So these days so we just got them all heard it in the studio here in decided to sing that Christmas song. Beyond that old style of singing the words of this song are particularly evocative of a homemade Christmas at a prairie Line Camp from decorating a Christmas tree with strands of popcorn and berries sitting down to a wild game turkey dinner the joining hands for an all-night dance to followed the setting. is a the old Star Cross outfit of camp in my mind out by the Canadian river in therefore character to kind of hold a camp then one is a fatal Fred Tremaine and his son kid tibolt remaining NFL this woman who came together with Fred. At some point Fair Donner and then an old kind of hanger-on named under. Dear listener, this is Buck Ramsey's Radio Christmas card for all of us this year. You'll not hear this anywhere else. It's called the Christmas Waltz. The way to reduce ear and behold year is passing. It's time to bring Jared. It's Christmas tree. Why are strings the berries and popcorn and hold on and fill them with stories? Christmas and long way down Marvin Gaye's on the star of the show called where the plum Fall Ride. Vapor shop in the present with and James and then tiger bread and Fry Road. That was the Ramsey family singing the Christmas Waltz wasn't that spectacular? You know, there's something about the way family sing together. It just can't be duplicated perhaps it's all the years of kids yelling at each other harmonizing on road trips in the car or singing in church every Sunday, but it results in an exceptional blend of voices. You know not all places are filled with pine boughs and Greenery and chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Christmas is a quite another thing on the high plains of South Dakota as we hear next from Ryder Linda hasselstrom. Linda Hazel streams essays and poetry Chronicle a woman's life on ranches in the west like where she was raised Oh Holy Night on the Prairie folks who are used to bustling fur wrap Choppers and Greenery hung with lights would see the wide prairie that stretches in front of me as a bleak place to spend Christmas. The grass is a mountain lion Pelt not one color, but gold van red Brown and colors for which no names exist blended into each other over the Rolling Hills a few Limestone outcropping studded with pale green Lichen in a scatter of white and granite grey Boulders decorate the scene. There are no trees green cone-shaped Evergreens that mean Christmas too many in the deeper gullies and occasional bear Cottonwood shows a white lightning stripped trunk against the grass buffaloberry and Plum bushes stand naked in narrow crevices beside ground-hugging Juniper bushes blending green and bronze. In the Eastern distance are the Badlands pink grey and blue spires a finger's width above the Horizon made higher this morning by Mirage, which is rapidly spreading to disappear as the sun comes up Dell gold to the West rise, the Black Hills a hand's breadth of tree covered Hills rising in five distinct ranges and glowing blue in the Morning Light. Here while Christmas songs play on the pickup radio. I see nothing at all to remind me of the season. The grass is short because we graze these distant Pastors in summer and bring the cattle closer to home in Winter. I am making a last survey picking up salt blocks and fence panels to be sure gates are closed against the neighbors Buffalo when I turn homework today, I will be shutting the door on this part of the ranch until spring when will bring cows and young calves here to Grey's to the summer. On Christmas Eve. I will join my cousin and his wife and their children one. My godson in church. I attended the same church when I was 5 years old and my mother sang in the choir. It's famous for its massive organ. And that's the tune swell into the familiar O Come All Ye Faithful I who have been anything but a faithful churchgoer will find myself in tears. The organ tones Express to me the largeness of the land rising over the small minds and bodies of the people who live upon it. Slowly is Christmas passes snowfalls Grouse made with bell like calls in the winter night Stillness. The days will grow warmer and spring will come if we get spring rains, which have not come for 3 years. The Tawny grass will show a hint of green at the roots in April and by June the hills will be rich with new life. I believe in the Israelite sings a low voice on the radio back by the sound of bells and I wonder surely no one who sees the seasons turn as I do who observes the Prairie Stillness in this season of rest and the inevitable coming of spring life summers lushness The Harvest of fall and the chill of winter again, and again and fail to believe that all is arranged as it should be that no matter how great our personal Sorrows the world is proceeding in an orderly fashion. That we are all part of a great cycle and our job is to help the Earth and it's turning to keep it pure and beautiful and clean for those who will surely come after us. We went to Rapid City South Dakota to record the organ of Linda's memories an instrument which gives people in small towns in the high plains, great Solace and pleasure especially this time of the year. Tell me a little bit about this organ. I'm fascinated. What was the what of this organ look like that have time but they've enlarge this church is massive. So when one of those organ pieces comes on with a deep tones, you you not only hear it or not only feel your skull vibrating feel it coming up through your feet and up to your back and your legs. So the whole thing and I just I don't I shut my eyes and just feel that power pulse through you. We on our program with a conversation with a close friend and Vincent Craig a Native American Renaissance Man Vincent's a legendary comedian a song writer and creator of a cartoon character called Mountain Man. Mythical Navajo hero. We spoke earlier this year at his home and White River Arizona we talked about what it was like for Vincent to grow up Navajo in the Christmas season. The very first Christmas that I remember. Had nothing to do with presents ironically. How do you know that's the general theme that hug Christmas revolves around? The first Christmas that I remember was was interesting enough tied to the trading post man. It was a time when the Trading Post Man became very nice and and would bring his ass layout. He had won his big old horse-drawn sleigh. And he would come to the Community Hall everybody around you know, and then I thought that was such a big deal. And though I know that my mom went all out to to maintain the spirit of Christmas despite. Everything around is our economy are you know financial situation? I guess that's the real point is he of of what Christmas is all about relative to the reality of her personal finances came to me. I think when I was in the fourth grade, I only got one present. And everybody around me have you found a lot of presents, you know, it was a big deal for them as I think about it now. I I realize how much careful planning in the two women is like a nice little very inexpensive gifts over carefully wrapped in and she knew what I knew. She knew when I like she knew me, you know, she bought me a little teeny a 45 caliber pistol. in the cloth holster and it had a magazine that came out and you could take the bullets out and in and out and had a little little magazine pouch on the side and had an extra magazine and I know that it didn't cost much but boy I was so intrigued by the mechanics of the Holy cuz almost everything worked, you know, like like a regular one only need to do is shoot. This showed me and I'll just listen to what I looked for. You notice how the bullets go in so that gift I think sticks with me more than any other gift I've ever received and I guess it was it was a very well-thought-out Christmas in there. And then at that time I realized for the first time that my mom was was working. By herself, my dad was gone and she was raising the eight kids by herself and on probably just a little early peanuts. I could you not know and I I didn't know, you know the extent of our poverty at the time. I think the only thing that kept check on on those things associated with the poverty like depression the stuff was the spirit of my mom. I think she really she knew how to fix things, you know by telling us and things like that not to lie to us. But this too she gave, I've liven things up. So I remember that very clearly. I told her that one time and then and then she got all misty-eyed. She said Sunday, you don't know really how hard it was it that time. Cuz she would hitchhike from Fort Wingate to Gallup everyday to work in a motel just fixing beds and stuff like that and hitchhiking back. but she kept us going and all of us, you're one reason I asked about Christmas has its one holiday Christian holiday that really now is based on the gift and so many of Native American Celebrations. The gift is such a interval part of of all of it. You know, there's just so many nuances to what the gift is in tribal culture in and very few and arrows the whole concept of life is a gift I think is one thing that is essential philosophy of every Every Indian prayer that I can think of when the navajos pray is that they say was Jonah Shadow or his own did they don't say I want this and I want that it's always like a met me my gift be this or may or may I be able to glean my GIF into something better that I may be a service to you and to my family to mankind you don't get in any position of bargaining with the Creator and I was just more thank you for everything. You've given me thank you for this and thank you for that. I can't show you that he had kind of thing, you know, all these types of things and then and then those things that you've you want to be relieved of you leave that in the hands of a you know, the Creator say, you know, which means maybe seems pass from me and this it's almost like it's in May This Cloud be lifted or taking away. And so Have you ever ridden any Christmas songs? I've done though Christmas songs contemporary type, but I know that I can get very very sentimental emotional when I do Christmas songs, cuz I think it has a lot of a lot of things. either by things that I wanted as you know him my my childhood two things that I'm so thankful now today that when I hear Christmas I meant when I was it down, when I was at law school at one time is during Christmas and I took my guitar and decided I was just going to sing some Christmas carols In My Room by myself. And that experience was so moving and spiritual to me that you know, I just packed up when home you know, I'm going home. Stay that weekend, but I just know someone to go to go. Where did you go came back here to the White River? No matter who you are what your religion is. You can't ignore Christmas. You may be a person who Rebels and every magical moment of the Season. We may be like me like me and do you have a little faith we are the ones who always want to find those rare and honest moments of innocence of true faith and gift and love at Christmas time. Then there are those from Christmas is a bitter pill a reminder of loss of disillusionment to you. Particularly. We send our warmest regards to all the rest Merry Christmas about Cannon. You've been listening to voices of the West a cowboy Christmas a production of the western Folklife Center. I co-produced this program with Mary Beth Kirchner with production engineering by Paul Blakemore. Audio Santa Fe art director of marketing is Marge ostroushko special thanks to the country music Foundation the Autry Museum of Western Heritage and the fun for folk culture copy of highlights of this program is available at one 800-748-4466. That's one 800-748-4466 or visit our website at West folk. Org voices of the West is made possible by the Utah travel Council Utah's Frontier Heritage is as varied as her Red Rock and Alpine landscape. Utah travel council is found on the world wide web at utah.com with additional support from the our Harold Burton Foundation this station and Public Radio International Affiliates Nationwide. PRI Public Radio International