A John Deere Christmas
A John Deere Christmas
"Mom, how many days till Christmas?" Jamie asked.
"About 32" said his mom.
"So that's 31 till Daddy gets home, right? Because you said he'd be here by Christmas Eve." said Jamie.
"Uh, sweetie, about that, the last time I talked to your father, I got some bad news. He's not going to be home by Christmas Eve like we thought," Ann replied, carefully choosing her words.
"No! You said he would be here Christmas! You said that on my birthday when he wasn't here then. And that was 10 months ago!" sobbed Jamie.
"Baby, come here." She pulls him into her arms and softly strokes his hair. She tells him again how sorry she is. But that it's no one's fault. "Your Daddy is a Marine. And that's something to be very proud of! And he has to be away to help all those people who need him."
"But momma, I need him too. I'm tired of Daddy helping them. I need help too. I need help with homework, and tying my shoe, and throwing a football." explained Jamie.
"Look, I know you miss him. So do I. But he's stuck in Iraq; and there's no way to get him out yet. Just pray for a miracle and maybe he'll be home by your birthday this year, ok?" says Anne.
Jamie jumps off his mom's lap and runs into the other room. Finally his sobbing lets up as he watches his favorite TV show.
Later that night he asks Anne for a pencil, some paper and an envelope. She figures he wants to mail his daddy a letter.
The next day Jamie asks his 2nd grade teacher how to send a letter to a company that makes machines like the ones on Bob the Builder. His teacher figures his question is a great way to teach the kids how to search the yellow pages. They find several ads in the phone book, but one in particular jumps out at Jamie. He scrawls the address on the envelope, stuffs a letter inside, and asks if his teacher will mail it for him.
Three days later, a man by the name of Lewis opens up a handwritten envelope and begins reading.
Deer Mister John Deer,
I saw your ad in the fone book. You have a picture of a bull dozer like on Bob the Bilder. Can I have it? I will give it back. But I really need one. My daddy is stuck in a rock and can't get out. So now he cant be here for Christmas. My mommy said that I should pray so he can get out. But I know bull dozers bust up rocks. I see it on TV. If I had one, I could get him out myself and he could come home. Pleaze help.
Your friend, Jamie Starnes
Lewis closes the letter and says a silent prayer for the little boy. He remembers all too well what it is like to grow up without a father around. He moved from base to base as a boy, while his Dad, now a 4 star General, unselfishly gave himself to his country, even at the expense of his own family. Lewis had chosen another direction. He forged a path that didn't include joining the military, much to his Father's disappointment. Instead he'd built a nice little construction business that allowed him to be home every night and every holiday with his wife and kids.
Lewis knows a bulldozer isn't the answer, but thinks, just maybe, he could still help. As he picks up a phone, he slides the boy's letter into a fax machine and presses send.
A half a world away in a war-torn country, a General takes his son's urgent call. As soon as he says hello, he hears, "Dad, I'm faxing you something to read. If you ever wanted to make up for any of those Christmases you weren't at home, see if you can get this boy's father some Christmas leave."
The General hangs up with a "Roger-that. I'll see what I can do".
Weeks went by and Jamie prayed every night for a miracle. He had never heard back from the man in the phone book, and Christmas Eve was tomorrow. How was he going to get his daddy home now? He never told his mom about the letter. She would have just told him it was a silly idea anyway. Cause even if he got the bulldozer, he didn't know how to drive it. He felt sad all over again, and was just about to cry into his pillow, when he heard a knock at the door. Next he heard an ear-piercing scream from his mother downstairs.
Jamie jumped from the bed, thinking something was wrong. Then, as he looked downstairs at the door, he saw his Dad standing there in his Marine Uniform! And he was holding a giant yellow Bulldozer with a red bow on it!
As his father stood smiling at him, Jamie jumped into his outstretched arms.
"Merry Christmas Jamie! I don't know how it happened, but I get to stay here through the holidays!" He then hands over the bulldozer and says, "And this is for you! The General personally gave it to me and said I had to give it to my boy for Christmas. He said it was from his son, a Mr. John Deere, and that you would understand!"
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