Signs of a Mayberry Christmas, Pt. 3

Remember this?  A classic Christmas movie.  A Christmas Story came out in 1983, the year I was a high school freshman.  Somehow I totally missed this movie.  It took my wife to introduce it to me during our first Christmas together.  We watched it and I lamented the 16 years it had gone unnoticed in my life. 

The story follows the saga of young Ralphie Parker and his family living somewhere in Northern Indiana, with the Christmas season approaching.  Ralphie's Christmas wish list is only one item long: an "official Red Rider Carbine-Action Two-Hundred- Shot Range Model Air Rifle" (you have to say it real fast to get the full effect).  Throughout the movie Ralphie's efforts seem to be for naught, as everyone from his parents to the shopping mall Santa responds with disdain, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" 

This is the overarching story, but the movie is full of various little montages along the way - all of which are downright hilarious.  There's the kid who gets his tongue stuck to the frozen flag pole, the boys' trip to see Santa at the mall, Ralphie's "O Fudge" moment, the fight scene....there are just so many of them.  Basically you need to rent it or watch it on cable TV (usually TBS shows it non-stop on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so you'll certainly have the opportunity).

One of the classic moments of the film takes place when Ralphie's Dad, otherwise known as "the old man," receives a "major award" in the mail from some contest he won.  Watch:

Ah, the leg lamp.  The old man goes nuts over it.  Obviously Ralphie's mom is less than thrilled but is either in shock or doesn't want to rain on her husband's parade, or both.  The kids are just dumbfounded, and there's no telling what's running through their minds.  Then the whole neighborhood is brought in on it as well, all of which makes for a great scene.

So what does all of this have to do with Mount Airy and the signs of a Mayberry Christmas?  Well....

See, there's this neat little house on Main Street in Mount Airy - a cute two-story traditional with the front porch all the way across.  The house is just a few blocks up from where the family and I watched the Christmas parade a week ago.  It belongs to some friends of ours - the lady works in the Main Oak Emporium, which houses our favorite coffee house, the Good Life Cafe.  The husband and wife are known for decorating their house to the hilt for the particular season, especially Halloween.  You gotta appreciate people who understand that living in such a visible location means keeping the many passersby duly entertained.

As you can see, the house is in full Christmas mode - wreaths on the door and banister, illuminated present porch art.....and say, what's that in the window on the left?  Looks familiar.  Let's get a closer look, shall we?

Well, whadya know!  The leg lamp from A Christmas Story, on Main St. in Mount Airy.  It's lit about every evening at dusk, and they usually turn it off no later than 9pm, given that they tend to hit the sack on the early side.  But for a good three hours or so, this little bit of holiday cinematic wonder shines forth for all Mayberry to see.

I wonder how many other small towns across America have a leg lamp shining forth from their Main Street?  I bet not many.

Incidentally, if you're thinking about adding one of these to your collection, I'd do what the old man didn't do and check with the wife first.  Then go here.

As the old man said, "Oh boy, oh boy - would you look at that?! It reminds me of the fourth of July!"  Not sure what he meant by that, but it doesn't really matter.  That movie scene makes me smile every time I see it and helps get me a little more into the seasonal spirit.  And so does the infamous leg lap in the window of the house on Main St. in good ol' Mayberry.  The Parker family would be proud.  Not quite sure what Barney would think.

Comments

[Sarah Lien Finnerty]

I love this movie. "Fra-gee-ley (Fragile). It must be Italian." I not only love it for what it is but for what it represents. Watching this movie I get a glimpse into my dad's childhood. He saw this movie and got a little verklempt (sp?) as it reminded him of growing up in Minneapolis. He says that it is true representation of what it was like to live during that time. So it makes me feel closer to my dad and I love that.

[Greg Rice]

Hey Steve,

I first saw this movie with Mark Merritt in the theatre during it's first run and as you can probably imagine, the two of us were howling with laughter at the light pole scene and the leg lamp scene. I bought a copy when it first came to video and have watched it faithfully every year since. it is certainly a family favorite and I still laugh out loud whenever I see it. Take care and God bless!

[Nancy Malone]

This movie was unknown to me, too as it came out while I was in the "neverland" of college. My friends Legh and Mike introduced me to this classic a few years ago after we moved to our own small town and now it is one of our families favorite classic Christmas Movies along with The Grinch, Little Drummer Boy, Christmas Vacation, Elf,... I could go on and on about favorite Christmas movies but the point is that my children LOVE driving down Main Street in Mount Airy and seeing the "Major Award" leg lamp in the window of that quintessential "small town" house...it is a big hit for all of us - a highlight of living in a small town! I'm still trying to convince my children that they do not want to try sticking their tongues to the pole! A hard lesson to learn! The classic "fragile" line and the entire "major award" unpacking scene makes me cry with laughter every time. What did he win the award for? Happy Holidays!

[Kerri]

you need to come to cleveland and see the real one!