Pap said there was a man from church who had a huge pine tree growing on his property in Brasstown. It wasn’t a tree that was native to our area it was one that the man or somebody had planted. The tree produced giant pinecones. You know the kind that looks like a small Christmas tree if you set them up on a table.
One Sunday before Christmas the man announced the pinecones were available for picking up if anyone wanted some for decorating. He went on to say he hoped no one would try to take them all so that there would be enough for everybody to get at least a few.
A couple days later Pap walked down the road and over to the tree to see if he could get a pinecone or two for his mother and grandmother. Pap couldn’t find not one pinecone! Someone had gotten them all. Pap said he was puzzled that someone would be so greedy but there wasn’t nothing to be done but forget about the pinecones. As the days passed he discovered he wasn’t the only one disappointed by the disappearing pinecones. More than a few people in the community felt the same way Pap did: someone had gotten greedy.
When the next Sunday rolled around the entire congregation got a pleasant surprise.
Pap said folks were standing around in the church yard before the bell rung for service to start when up rode Lenora (a girl Pap’s age) with a wagon full of pinecones for everyone to share. Turns out Lenora wasn’t being greedy she was being helpful. She thought it would be easier on everyone if she picked up all the pinecones and brought them to church for everyone to share so that’s just what she did.
I had the great pleasure to know Lenora my whole life, except I knew her as Big Momma. She was one of my best friends, Tracy’s, grandmother.
Back when Pap told me the story about pinecones I wasn’t surprised that Big Momma picked them up for everyone. As long as I knew her she had a generous spirit and was full of laughter and goodwill.
Christmas often makes me think of days gone by. My mind drifts from Christmas dinners at Granny Gazzie’s with all the uncles, aunts, and cousins, to Christmas festivities at church and school.
Earlier this week when I thought about the kindness of Pap going to pickup a few pinecones for his mother and grandmother and about Lenora doing the hard work so that everyone could enjoy the pinecones more easily I found myself hoping that same sprit of goodness was still alive and well in Brasstown. It only took a moment to think of several recent occurrences to assure myself it certainly is.
Last night’s video: Hanging Christmas Cards & Sharing Christmas Traditions from Appalachia.
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Merry Christmas, Tipper! What a sweet story, a reminder not to jump to conclusions. Wishing you and your family all the best in the coming year!
I don’t often post here, but I read Tipper’s posts and the daily comments.
I hope Tipper, her family, and everyone who meets here on the Blind Pig daily has a beautiful, peaceful, and pleasant Christmas weekend. Rejoice and spread the yuletide joy far and wide. Give a thought and a heartfelt “Thank You” to those who have served our nation in uniform. And special thanks to those away in foreign lands, especially my brothers and sisters at sea this Christmas season.
I love pine cones! I put some on my Christmas tree this year!
Love this sweet memory. Pap would have been one of my favorite people! Merry Christmas! Take care and God bless ❣️
Just received this text: while you’re out be patient with the sales people, it’s not their fault that you waited until Mary’s water broke to do your Christmas shopping.
Thanks for sharing this story. It’s nice to be reminded that there are people who still care about others.
We had Christmas last night with our kids and grandkids. My youngest grandson who is 6, came with a present he had obviously wrapped himself and said to me ” grandpa you’ve gonna love what I got you for Christmas”. It was a picture of a pig. Of course I made a big deal over it telling him how much I loved it. My daughter told me they were shopping and he saw it and said ” grandpa would love this” she told him ” let’s look around some more” but he said “NO, grandpa is gonna love this” so I now have a picture of a pig in our den and yes, I love it because it was so important to him.
Ron, things such as your grandson’s gift is what makes being a grandparent so great. Even though my grandsons are grown, I (we) still have things they gave us and pictures they drew on notebook paper for us stuck to the refrigerator and walls. Somebody else will take them down, I never will. They remind me of the good times with them when they were little. I also like your other comment about your text message.
We let our kids do their xmas shopping at the dollar store with a list of all the folks they needed to purchase for. One year my older, Lily, bought my father a can of cream of potato soup. He had been real sick for a month and she thought it would make him feel better. The next year she gave my sister’s children’ father a weekly medicine dispenser & filled it with lemon head candies. It was an apt present. Always trust the 3 year old. They know what people need.
These shopping trips would bring about a lot of laughs & we never steered them in any direction.
Love this story! ❤
Thanks for sharing.
Is it a picture of Arnold Ziffel? Arnold is my hero. I like Arnold because Arnold is my middle name. There aren’t any Arnolds who are as famous as Arnold Ziffel unless you include Schwarzenegger or Palmer.
being from SC we always had pine cones. Big ones and little ones. At Christmas when growing up, there were all kinds of pine cone decorations along with sweetgum balls.
When we visited Yosemite to see the massive redwoods, we were surprised to see how small the seed cones were. We had seen massive cones laying around but found out they were from the sugar pine. When we got out of the park, we stopped at a general store and they had both for sale so we had to bring a sugar pine cone home and it is still here 35 years later.
Wonderful story! Wouldn’t it be great like Randy said if we did acts of kindness all year long and not just at Christmas? I do try to do my part, but it seems like when the holidays are over, a lot of folks tend to forget and get busy with their own lives again. Hope everyone stays warm and safe today. Tipper, looking forward to the reading tonight.
There ever shall be while time endures those with loving, giving hearts. And that’s because the redemption brought to us over two thousand years ago lives in the lives of those redeemed. Quietly, steadily, day in and day out they show it in large and small ways. As was written, 2CO9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
I hope yall have a wonderful Christmas!
What a precious memory! That’s so sweet! Merry Christmas!!
I love reading sweet memories like this and learning how others have blessed so many throughout their lives. It’s both an encouragement and a blessing that the giving hearts are still present in today’s world. Thank you for sharing so much of your family and yourself with us all. Thank you to the BPATA readers for sharing their wonderful memories and stories too.
Merry Christmas to you, your family and BPATA readers. May God bless and keep you all!
Tipper, you may get your wish for snow this year! According to the weather people the mountain area will get snow along with the extreme cold we all will get tonight and this weekend. Be safe and keep warm!
Good neighbors are truly a blessing.
Merry Christmas!!! 10 degrees with wind chill of minus 9 in NE Cherokee County GA.
This Arctic blast needs to hurry on through.
Good story about the pine cones. And, I certainly like Big Momma’s given name.
Kindness is never wasted. I think of her gathering pine cones and I don’t even know her. It gave me a warm feeling that others do care – always a welcome feeling. She is a blessing.
Just read the old post about disbelieving teenagers. I would tease my children and tell them I was dumb as dirt until they needed help with something and then I turned into a genius. I also read one about Christmas cards, I hope Granny received a truckload of cards this year.
Such a sweet story! I love starting my day with stories like these, thank you Miss Tipper for sharing your memories with us. Merry Christmas Blind Pig readers❤️
Tipper, I loved this story. Every year I fix a bowl of pinecones that I have soaked with cinnamon oil. It makes the house smell like home and family. Then, you can burn them in the fireplace or fire pit for more enjoyment. I made carrot cake last night, coconut cake and pie tonight, and ham tomorrow and we are ready! Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Hi Tipper, I love decorating with pinecones. We gather them at our small towns cemetery. The workers are very happy about that as the mowers hit a lot of them and send them flying. Last year we hung them on our tree. We sprayed some of them with some spray on adhesive, then dipped them into white glitter, a little messy, but boy were they beautiful on the tree. We also took white craft paint and gently tipped the tips of some of the pinecones to look like snow on them. That was really pretty as well. The tree was so beautiful it reflected nature so well. One of our prettiest trees. This year we decorated in red and gold balls with just white lights. Also very pretty, but I miss the one with the pinecones. Merry Christmas to you All
The Lord has been dealing with my heart lately about this very subject. He’s reminded me things are not always the way they look. Faith does no good if you can SEE what’s happening. When my mind wanders to the worst in people, why won’t it do the same for the best in people? I’ve GOT TO put on my rose colored glasses and choose to look through them. We’ve all had the bad, but let’s focus on the good for our good! There’s ALWAYS going to be plenty of somebody’s who want everything they can get and are consumed by their greed. There’s always going to be the sharing and giving ones too. I know a guy who works at Sam’s club every day and has 1.3 MILLION dollars. I know cause I saw the figures. Anyway, he eats soup and takes free cold cuts from work or pie or anything he can get for FREE. His socks are tattered in the heels and toes and his toenails need help. His hair is scraggly and he eats like a bird. He got a bill from IRS for 14 g and he’s cracking like an egg. He’s basically working to give his money from work to the IRS. He said he doesn’t care about money but Christmas is canceled. I wonder what he’s talking about. I hope when I die they say she left flat broke but gave and did all she could for others so who’s the millionaire here? Lol
Tip, if I was looking for a family of fine people, I would look no further that your family. I think your father, Pap, to be the finest man I’ve ever known. There is no one I know that would top the spirit of Jerry Wilson!
Merry Christmas to all and please stay warm and safe!
I remember this post, such a thoughtful person.
Sounds like Lenora was a really nice person!
Hope everyone is doing well with this snow storm. We’re at -8 degrees as I type this. I didn’t sleep well due to the winds blowing so hard all night long. Normally winter storms don’t bother me, but last year we lost power during a storm for almost 48 hours and I prayed we didn’t have a repeat with this storm. Merry Christmas to everyone here on the Blind Pig & the Acorn!!!!
I love this story so much!! My daughter inlaw just gave me two brown paper sacks full of the giant pine cones. I had mentioned I have 6 , that are on Christmas picks that I tuck into my tree, and said “if I only had about 6 or 8 more it would cover my whole tree.” Sure enough she spied some at a thrift store or flea market and blessed me with them, makes my home feel like I’ve brought even more nature inside. -8* outside, nd -33* here this morning with the windchill! Merry Christmas
Love this story.
Enjoyed reading about Big Momma. I also have memories of the past with the Christmas get togethers with all of the family members. For many years my wife’s family would have a big dinner on Christmas Day, They would be so many they would rent a community building and then later on used our church social hall to have room for everyone. Many members have now passed away and they no longer do this. For me the memories of the past are good but at the same time are also very painful. I found myself thinking of the past more and more and not caring about the future. Why can we not do these acts of kindness for others year round and not just at Christmas?
Love how you display the cards your family gets…I do the same. I read them when I get them and read the message again when Christmas is over. Friends and Kin, some cross the line and become friends and kin. We are so Blessed. Matt was so funny at the beginning of last nights vlog…you two seem to fit so well. Looking forward to todays read. Stay warm and give my best to Granny.
Great story.