Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Candelabra Memory

I remember as a kid, having these beautiful crystal candelabras that we would use on special occasions. I went to catholic school, so they always reminded me of ones that they used in church.

One Christmas, when I was about seven years old, my mother and grandmother had a Christmas party. In our dining room, they decorated by hanging twistie streamers from each corner of the room to the chandelier that was in the middle of the room. They had a very large paper bell hanging from the middle, where all the streamers met. The table was decorated with a paper, holiday table cloth.

The next morning, I was the first one up. I was admiring the streamers and noticed that the candelabras were out. Grown ups get to have all the fun while the children are sleeping.

I decided, in the quiet of the morning, that I wanted to pretend I was a priest and use the candelabra like a priest would at mass. So, I lit the three candles, climbed up on one of the chairs and grabbed the candelabra with both hands.

I thrust the candelabra to the sky saying "In the name of the father" then brought it down below eye level saying "And of the son" as I was moving it to the left saying "And of the Holy.........", I never got to finish by saying Ghost. By this time, the paper bell was on fire and had fallen onto the paper tablecloth. At this point, the table was on fire!

I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a bucket and quickly filled it with water. I somehow managed to put the fire out quickly. I am scared shitless at this point, knowing that my ass is going to get beat. I ran to my mothers room and quickly announced that I was going to visit my Aunt Marge and ran out of the house and ran the two blocks to her house, in my pajamas.

By the time I arrived at Aunt Marge's I was met at the door and told I needed to go right back home. I don't remember what my punishment was, but I do know that I didn't touch those candelabras again in years.

I really don't know if I have them. When I cleaned out my mother's apartment two years ago, if she still had them, I am sure I kept them due to this memory, however, her stuff is in storage. I really hope that I have them. If not, I will never forget them!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cracking me up here at the shore!
Wait until my firefighter husband reads this! I never admit to playing with matches!

Julie said...

I thought this story was going to end with you murdering someone with the candelabra... I guess a fire is cool too!