Very interesting article this week. I am a youngster and did not know about the oranges in the stockings (I love hearing about those types of things though). As for the ice cutting, I learned about that from my great grandmother (who is 101 and still kicking) in a painting that they had at their farm. It showed a building next to a creek/river, and they called it the "ice-house" picture, which I found out that the ice-house was where they stored ice before freezers, they cut the ice from the creek and stored it in saw dust, nice memory.
I think what I took from the story is JC's seasons are more like traditions in my mind. I will always remember the feeling of deer season when I was finally old enough to go. The eating of cereal (usually corn flakes) the dressing up in layers, loading the shells in the cartridge (what a feeling when I was old enough to touch the shells and gun), getting in the truck (at a** am) and going out to the farm. No matter what I do to recreate this it will never be the same as it was (changes/seasons?). Anyway I wanted to thank Bill and JC for bringing up some memories.
Also I got M&M's in my stocking, the only time of the year that I got them, so they were special to me!
Drew

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A bum-legged old man and a drunk. That's all you got?
That's WHAT I got.