Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Keep a Candle Burning
Candles have been
used in the modern era mostly for ambiance. I don’t recall mood candles during
my youth. Mostly, candles were used during power outages, a common occurrence
in Southeast Idaho—the wind, you see. It seems it was after I moved away that
Esther developed an affinity for candles. (If she had in fact used them
previously, I in my self-absorbed teenage existence had not noticed.) Whenever
I returned home for a visit, there would be a candle burning, often in my room.
A candle has many
uses other than lighting. They are also valuable for mood setting, covering
odors of deep fried foods or camouflaging mouse infestations, and message
sending.
Message sending.
This is not in reference to smoke signals, although a candle may suffice in a
pinch. The messages sent by lighted candles are simple unspoken words of love.
For me, a candle communicates, “Welcome Home.” Never was Esther’s lighted
candle so appreciated as it was Christmastime 1983.
Bonnie, the Baby,
and I were traveling home from Southwest Idaho to Southeast Idaho for
Christmas. Young, single, and not very wise nor well-prepared, we were anxious
to hurry home for the holidays and left Boise at 5:00 pm in a light snowstorm
on December 23. The trouble with light snowstorms in Southwest Idaho is not
only Southwestern Idahoans’ lack of winter driving experience, but also the
fact that the storm’s counterpart in Southeast Idaho is most likely a blizzard.
The light snowstorm
increased in severity as we traveled eastward. Halfway between our point of
departure and our destination, at about 7:30 pm, the storm became so vigorous
that the gas line in Bonnie’s Mustang began to freeze up. When this phenomenon
occurs, the engine behaves as if the fuel tank is empty and the vehicle comes
to a stop. Being quite familiar with the behavior of empty gas tanks, I
proceeded to berate her for neglecting to fuel the car. She assured me this was
not the case and we began to strategize. Hazards on. Wait patiently for help.
Surely someone would come to the rescue. One problem. Folks don’t like to stop
on freeways in blizzards at night. Second problem. Folks have difficulty seeing
in blizzards. Third problem. Hazard lights don’t last long in blizzards.
The whiteout was
severe enough that we could not determine our exact location. Not that it would
do any good as this was in the days before cell phones. We waited. Our only
hope was to attract attention and communicate the need for help. We began
taking turns standing behind the car and waving the only signal item we had, a
white grocery bag! We prayed. As the hazard lights were beginning to dim, we
prayed some more and gave up on the white flag waving.
We were becoming
most discouraged when not one, but two vehicles transporting Good Samaritans
stopped to lend a hand. We were offered a ride to town, where we enlisted the
help of a garage and tow truck. Bonnie then returned to the scene, accompanying
the tow truck driver in an attempt to locate our abandoned vehicle. Several
hours later the gas line was thawed and we continued our trek across state. As
we reentered the freeway, we discovered that the blizzard was continuing to
rage. The white out persisted, but we miraculously arrived home about 2:30 am
December 24. As we pulled into the drive, I caught sight of a candle still
burning in the window. What a relief! Its flickering glow seemed to
communicate, “I’m waiting.”
Esther’s version of
the story is quite different as she was the lighter of the candle. She has
spoken of the relief experienced when she observed the glow of the Mustang’s
headlights coming up the road. She saw the lights and knew we were safe.
Now I don’t know if
those burning candles were used to set a mood, cover up the odor of a seldom
used basement, or send a message, but they were a comfort to me. My own
children are maturing and have occasion to be away from home. I have taken up
the torch, as it were. A lighted candle now burns while I await their safe
return. Mood setting? Maybe. Mostly, I burn the candle in remembrance of the
relief it granted me, as a connection to my own mother concerned for the safe
travel of her offspring, and to foster a tradition that I am certain my children
will not fully understand until they have youngsters of their own venturing
forth into the world. Maybe they too, will say a prayer and light a candle to
beckon, “Welcome Home.”
I wish you all a safe and Happy Christmas!
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