It was Christmas Eve 1965 and I was 5 years old. I'd just finished watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on t.v. (Remember back when Christmas shows used to be on around Christmas time -- not the day after Thanksgiving?!?)
My parents tried getting us (me & my 3-year-old sister) to bed by telling us Santa wouldn't come if he knew we were awake. But of course I couldn't sleep. I was wayyyyy too excited for that! Hey, I was getting a Baby Crawl-A-Long and I could hardly wait!!!
My eyes just wouldn't close. My ears were tuned to the roof, listening for those reindeer hooves to land and waiting to hear that "Ho, ho, ho!" I kept staring out my bedroom window at the star-filled sky.
But wait!! What's that I see? It's not a star! It's a red light flashing as it flies through the sky! Rudolph leading Santa's sleigh!!!
I jumped out of bed, ran to the window to make sure it really was Rudolph, then bounded down the hallway to my parent's bedroom to let them know Santa was on the way. They came to check it out and, sure enough, it was Rudolph, they said. But they also told me I better fall asleep fast or Santa would pass right by the house.
A few years later, my parents told me what I saw was actually an airplane passing by. But I don't know............
