When I was 3, my Christmas wish was fulfilled. Santa left me a pony next to the tree.
I named him Pascagoula, and we rode everywhere, me in my cowboy hat, scarf and chaps and Pascagoula under his new saddle. We wanted to grow up together, move to Colorado and become rodeo stars.
I wish.
Mama taught me not to lie.
Truth is, one day a man came to our three-room shotgun house (so called because you could stand on the porch and fire a shotgun through the front door, and the shell would go out the back door) and said he would take a picture of the squirt on a pony — for a price. My mother bought into it. I was so scared, but I loved being atop that pony.
So I told my daddy I wanted a pony for Christmas.
“Where you gonna keep the pony?” he asked.
“In the backyard.”
“You’d put him in that little yard with no grass? What’re you gonna feed the pony?”
“I share my food with him.”
“You think a pony eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and mushed-up peas? Where you gonna ride the pony?”
“In the street.”
“You’re gonna make a pony run on pavement and probably get hit by a car? Do you still think it’s a good idea to have a pony?”
“No, I guess.”
My father was a wise man.
Occasionally, I stare at the photo of the pony and me and wonder if we would have grown up to become Woody Paige, the Singing Cowboy, and his wonder horse, Pascagoula, who save Colorado from the rustlers and bank robbers and bad pro team owners.
Until recently, I always wished for a pony. I’m too old now, I guess.
So, this Christmas, I had two wishes.
One, I wanted my mom and my daughter to be with me on Dec. 25. After 81 years in the South, Billie Paige has moved to Denver to be close to me, and Shannon Paige, despite never getting her pony, flies from New York today to be home for the holidays.
Two, I hope that you will consider donating to “Season To Share.”
(I know it was a cheap trick to use the pony story, but you’d rather I use the Broncos story?)
There are so many people in Colorado who don’t wish for a pony for Christmas. Children want to be adopted, have help with their blindness, get a chance to escape abusive and neglected lives and be placed in a happy, loving home. Single mothers want transitional living and safe haven from violence and programs that will aid their youngsters and assist them in being employed in the community. The homeless want a hot meal and a shelter and supportive services to allow them to be self-sufficient.
Seniors want to live with warmth, safety and respect — and perhaps receive a thanks for all they did.
The low-income families want medicine and medical attention, particularly for their children, at hospitals and clinics.
The Post-News “Season To Share” campaign, with the slogan “Together we can make a difference,” provides annual, sizable financial grants to more than 60 nonprofit centers, projects, volunteer programs, foundations, clubs and agencies that reach out to tens of thousands of young and old in need.
I have visited or worked with a lot of these organizations, and they do so much good with so little support. My daughter organized baby-sitting Friday nights at Warren Village and Christmas gifts for the boys and girls. My friend Tim has two incredible kids who came to him and his wife through the adoption exchange. Jim White at Volunteers of America has worked tirelessly in Denver for decades, assisting the youth, the elderly, the hungry and the ill.
Capitol Hill Community Services, which has one full-time and two part-time employees and 200 volunteers (including students), serves 53,000 meals a year. Clinica Campesina gives health care to 24,000 children and adults. Special Transit provides transportation to thousands of disabled and elderly people. Boys & Girls Clubs has six facilities for thousands of young people — and is building a youth center in the late Darrent Williams’ honor.
“Season To Share” actually was an outgrowth of the “Basket of Joy,” a holiday project three of us began in 1988 after two retired teachers were cheated out of their entire savings by a scam man. We wanted to show the elderly that Denver loved them. For the 19th consecutive year, on Dec. 10, volunteers assembled and delivered more than 5,000 baskets of fruit, chocolate and holiday cards (made by students) to isolated seniors in the metro area.
The Post supported our program, then expanded it to “Season To Share” and dozens of charities. When the Denver Newspaper Agency was created, the Rocky Mountain News joined the ever-growing effort.
The McCormick Tribune Foundation always gives 50 cents for every dollar donated.
With your contributions, large and small, “Season To Share” for the first time in its history could surpass a mind-boggling $20 million this year. Imagine what could be accomplished with that money.
Look for the coupon in the Season ad in the newspapers, or donations can be made by calling 1-888-683-4483 or online at .
I will donate in the name of Pascagoula. How about donating in the name of the Christmas pony you never got?
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
