The Christmas Carriage

By Alice J. Massa

To celebrate holiday reading, author Alice Jane-Marie Massa
invites you to join her on a snowy, imaginary carriage ride
featuring her holiday memoirs, short stories, and poetry.

Spanning from Thanksgiving through the new year, this
collection includes her remembrances of Hoosier holidays in the 1950s and 1960s. "The Christmas Carriage" (set in Milwaukee) and "The Puppies of New Year's Eve," along with stories about a military family, two holiday weddings, and a homeless person will warm your heart this winter. From "Zoe's Christmas Eve" to "Snow Dancers," Alice's poetry provides merry and memorable reading for both adults and children.

This book is one you will want to wrap as a holiday gift, as well as a book that you will want to keep beside your chair while you settle into the sparkle and joy of this holiday season.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alice J. Massa
• Release date: Nov 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370407859

Book preview

Dedication

This book is dedicated

in loving memory of

my cherished, third Leader Dog,

Zoe,

who passed away very suddenly and unexpectedly

on March 16, 2016.

Having enjoyed seven holiday seasons

with Zoe at my side

was and will always be

a treasured gift.

Additionally, this book is dedicated

in loving memory of

my parents, James and Mary Massa,

who gave me their gifts of love and care,

as well as decades

of sparkling holiday memories.

Acknowledgements

Generous thanks to Chris Kantak who found the perfect cover photo for my first book and to Cindy Kennedy−Lesky for giving her permission to use her perfect photo of the horse and carriage on this book’s cover. During the holiday season of 2015, Cindy took the photo in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward.

Cindy Kennedy−Lesky Photography

http://www.cindylesky.com

Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward

http://www.historicthirdward.org

Milwaukee Coach & Carriage

http://www.milwaukeecarriage.com

Special thanks to Christie Bane, GDMI (Guide Dog Mobility Instructor), for taking the photo of Leader Dog Willow and me beside the bridge, at a park in Rochester, Michigan.

Abundant thanks to my sister, Mary E. Massa Fanyo, for many reasons, including her taking the photo on the back cover and the photo for the dedication page.

Many thanks to my remarkable teachers who helped me form a strong foundation for writing and a love of the craft—teachers from Jacksonville Grade School (Indiana) to Clinton High School (Indiana), as well as professors at Indiana State University and Western Michigan University.

Warm thanks to all my writer friends of the Behind Our Eyes international writers' group for their inspiration and encouragement.

Bountiful thanks to Jenna Merten Heiting who on January 19, 2013, helped me initiate my Wordwalk blog which allowed me to accumulate a portfolio of writing pieces.

Sincere thanks to all of my Wordwalk readers for their comments and support each week.

Forever thanks to Leader Dogs for the Blind, whose staff and trainers (especially Tom Hill, Jessica Bimmermann, Christie Bane, and Sue Hackman) made possible the four grand gifts of my life—Leader Dogs Keller, Heather, Zoe, and Willow—all of whom enhanced (and continue to enhance) my life in many extraordinary ways so that I could achieve the dreams of my life.

http://www.leaderdog.org

Loving thanks to my immediate and extended family with whom my Leader Dogs and I have shared many warm and wonderful holidays that led to the writings in this book.

Finally, my hearty thanks to a small rural town in Indiana—Blanford—where I experienced the love of a home in the Heartland during all seasons of life.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Writing Through the Snow

Thanksgiving Vignettes: A Cornucopia of Thanks for Family and Friends around the Thanksgiving Table (memoir)

The Thanksgiving Phone (a short story about a military family)

The Thanksgiving Poetry Game (how–to and poem)

Leader Dog Zoe Visits U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree (recent memoir)

The Magic and Wonder of the First Weekend of December (memoir)

Making a Christmas Card: Keeping a Christmas Memory of the Best Gift Ever (how–to and memoir)

Zoe’s Christmas Eve (story poem for children and adults)

Hallmark of a Home for the Holidays (memoir)

2000 Holiday Wishes! (poem)

The Christmas Carriage (short story about a Christmas Eve carriage ride)

Acrostic Christmas Gift (poem)

A Sign of Peace at Cocoa with the Clauses (short story about a homeless person)

Winter in Wisconsin: A Hard Time to Be Homeless (essay)

Blissful Bells (short story about two weddings on December 30)

The Puppies of New Year’s Eve (short story about adopting two puppies and a new way of life)

Still Dreaming of a White Christmas, but Waiting for Global Warming (humorous essay)

A Snowflake Garden (poem)

Snow Dancers (poem for children and adults)

About the Author

About Leonore and David Dvorkin

Introduction:

Writing Through the Snow

With the thought of my first book being in your hands, I am as excited as a child on Christmas morning. Now, imagine a fresh blanket of snow. On this canvas of snowflakes, I have written a footnote—or a bootnote—for you: Welcome to these holiday pages!

As you read the short stories, memoirs, poems, and how–to pieces of this holiday collection, I hope that you will be filled with the peace and wonder of your own holiday memories and future plans. With the book’s contents spanning from Thanksgiving to the New Year, you can read a holiday portion at a time, if you wish.

The date at the conclusion of each piece notes the day when I either wrote the piece and/or posted the piece on my weekly blog:

http://alice13wordwalk.wordpress.com

You may recognize some writings in this collection from my Wordwalk blog. In the variety of pieces selected for this book, you will read about my three former and beloved Leader Dogs—Keller, Heather, and Zoe—but not about my new addition, because Leader Dog Willow just came sweetly into my life on June 7, 2016. This year will mark the twenty–seventh Christmas that a Leader Dog has been at my side. As you look forward to the coming holiday season, I look forward to sharing my holidays for the first time with my fourth Leader Dog, Willow, an exceptionally calm Black Labrador who is an especially good guide and dear companion.

Now, enjoy some of my favorite holiday writings that are seasoned with good cheer and warm wishes for you.

Happy holiday reading!

Alice and Leader Dog Willow

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

August 28, 2016, Sunday

Thanksgiving Vignettes:

A Cornucopia of Thanks for Family and Friends around the Thanksgiving