Uncle Sal and the Pristine Party (Episode 104)

Uncle Sal sat between Alice and Brad Jimson on the couch at the annual Christmas in August party. Uncle Sal put a matchbook of the event into the pocket of his Guild of Omani Novelists bowling shirt and sipped egg nog from a Blitzen mug.

Brad sipped his egg nog also and said, "Man, that egg nog is amazing. It's perfect." He looked at the surface of the drink and said, "Did Odetta grate the spices herself?"

"Course she did. She is meticulous about this party." Uncle Sal stood up and motioned for Brad to follow him. They walked to the hearth and Uncle Sal pointed to the stocking with his name on it. "Every year, she makes a new batch of stockings. I guess this year the color is lavender. And then you can see, she stitches the names on there too. Then there's the tree. I mean, let's face it. Ya ain't gonna find a Christmas tree in August. So, she grows some out in the back yard and cuts one down every year."

Brad was impressed, not only that she took the time to grow her own Christmas trees, but also at the fact that the Christmas tree was perfect. It wasn't dry. It was perfectly formed. And Odetta had adorned it with well-placed garlands and ornaments. Brad thought it was the sort of tree you would see on some talk show just before the holidays.

"But that ain't nothin' compared to this." Uncle Sal led Brad to the nativity scene in the corner. "Have a look at that."

Brad looked at the scene and nodded. Uncle Sal slapped him on the shoulder and said, "No! Really look at it."

Following Uncle Sal's instructions, Brad bent and looked intently at the nativity scene. The manger was made entirely of pretzel sticks. The floor was covered with pine needles that Brad correctly assumed had come from the home-grown Christmas tree. The figures (both human and animal) had been sculpted out of sugar, painted, and shellacked.

A long, low whistle escaped Brad's lips. "Wow! That is something else. I can't believe that she takes all the time to do all this stuff. And that it's all perfect."

"Course it's perfect. She's been doing this party for twelve years and I can tell ya one thing. She does not muff her Yules, Bradley."

This episode featured:

Yul Log IV as Uncle Sal

Fiorello Mellovich as Brad Jimson

Gabriela Angeles as Alice

and

Jellybean Merengue as the lavender Uncle Sal stocking.

Tune in next week when Uncle Sal says, "Bless the saints, it's an ashtray!"