The 12 Best Secrets of Christmas: A Treasure House of December Memories Revealed

By Herbie J Pilato and Dean Butler

“Every December, the gaps close between us all; individuals, families, groups, communities, cities, states, provinces, nations, cultures, and religions. We are kinder to each other. We listen to those who are not heard, speak to those who are ignored and care about those who are disregarded. We reach out to those who are unreachable, play with those who work too hard, and laugh with those who shed too many tears. We make angels in the snow or buy our true love their favorite perfume or cologne. We give to those who sometimes only know how to take and keep, offer peace where there is unrest, and so on and so forth and so good. These are the personal things and intimate moments from which holiday memories spring — and just a few examples of the December discernments to behold in this book.”

Advance Praise for The 12 Best Secrets of Christmas

“Herbie J Pilato has prepared for us this delicious feast of Christmas Secrets, which he serves with love. Spend the holidays with this delightful book. It will warm your heart.”

—Richard Thomas (Actor, The Waltons, The Christmas Box,

Christmas vs. The Walters)

“With each nostalgic turn of the page, Herbie J Pilato’s 12 Best Secrets of Christmas is written for everyone and is very relatable as the youthful Christmases we had or the ones we wished for. I found it inspirational, comforting and full of joy.”

—Barry Williams (Actor, A Very Brady Christmas,

Blending Christmas/Author, Growing Up Brady)

“Einstein suggested to ‘make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.’ With The 12 Best Secrets of Christmas, Herbie J Pilato has done just that, artfully transforming his early experiences into heartfelt, warm, and enduring life lessons. In the guise of a seasonal offering and gleaned from his Christmas past, Pilato has distilled his introspections into a portable, poignant and insightful memoir, a wise and timeless gem of a little book. With this, as with his other work, Herbie J Pilato has again proved himself to be an American Original.”

—Ed Spielman (Creator, Kung Fu, The Young Riders,

among other Emmy-winning TV classics)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Jul 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665716161

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 Herbie J Pilato.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

844-669-3957

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Original book cover art by Carole Munshi.

Cover design by Bob Barnett, Dan Holm, and Terry DiOrio.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1617-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1618-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-1616-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021924863

Archway Publishing rev. date: 08/08/2022

Contents

Foreword by Dean Butler

Introduction by Jerry Houser

Preface

The First Secret: Think Outside the Box

The Second Secret: Listen to the Music

The Third Secret: Let It Snow

The Fourth Secret: Look for the Silver Lining

The Fifth Secret: Check the Mail

The Sixth Secret: Appreciate the Little Things

The Seventh Secret: Shop at All of the Right Places

The Eighth Secret: Never Lose Your Sense of Humor

The Ninth Secret: Set a Nice Table

The Tenth Secret: Play Cards

The Eleventh Secret: Get a Good Night’s Sleep

The Twelfth Secret: Make Sure to Shine When You Rise

Yesterday’s Gift is the Present: An Afterword

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Dedicated to Love, however it may be expressed

and experienced by anyone of any culture,

heritage, creed, political party, gender, sexual

orientation, or religious or spiritual belief.

Foreword

by Dean Butler

I first met Herbie J Pilato a decade ago at an event in Burbank, CA. He invited me to join my friend, Caryn Richman, in a panel discussion he was moderating about classic television shows. Caryn and I co-starred on The New Gidget in the mid-1980s, and I’ve always enjoyed any opportunity to reflect on those days with her. We played Gidget and Moondoggie — it was silly good fun; pink fluff, as our director, Roger Duchowny, often described it. As we reminisced, Caryn and I could see that Herbie J appreciated our pink fluff. Years later he was genuinely touched by cast reflections of the sweet sentimentality and goodness of Michael Landon’s Little House on the Prairie. He had a fondness for both series, their places in television history, and how they influenced his life. Herbie J gets TV and loves its impact on