Nick Nichols
The snow flurries and Christmas carols in the air were a sure sign that Christmas was just around the corner! But those weren’t the things Christian was so excited about. To him, they signaled that Grandpa would soon be getting out his special Christmas cane! Christian would never have a Christmas like this… Starting from when he was just knee-high to a grasshopper, little Christian had always wondered why Grandpa’s Christmas cane was so special, but this particular Christmas—now that Christian was all grown up at the ripe old age of nine—he knew it was time to settle his curiosity once and for all. Squirming up into Grandpa’s lap in his favorite dark orange, gigantic, easy chair, Christian bravely proceeded, "Grandpa, I know you use a cane because you hurt your foot, but why is your Christmas cane so special?" "Well," Grandpa replied with a twinkle in his eye that only grandpas possess, "First, I’ll tell you how I hurt my foot and then what makes my Christmas cane more special than any of my other canes." "My team of five climbers and I were halfway up Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, when a storm started blowing in. The sky had suddenly changed from a brilliant blue to a stormy gray as fierce, ominous clouds invaded the sky. As the wind cut right through our bodies, the temperature plummeted, and we found ourselves trapped on the side of the mountain. Suddenly…" Christian interrupted, "Grandpa!!" With a stern, little-boy look that only a nine-year-old can do, Christian continued, "Now tell me the truth, Grandpa!!" Looking down at little Christian with a grin, the old man had been caught! Christian now sat in rapt attention and delight as Grandpa unfolded the true mystery of his Christmas cane.
