Sybil Bruncheon's MORE THAN THEY SEEM STORIES... “What She REALLY Wants For Christmas!!"…

Mandy Fletcher had always dreamed of being a perfect wife! She had made her first wedding gown and veil at 4 years of age out of twelve rolls of toilet paper!... the luxury brand! And when she finished high school and had been the president of both the Home Economics Club and the 4H Regional Housekeeping Arts & Sciences League, she passed on going to college for a business degree. Nope. It was marriage to her sweetheart Jim Cambridge from the Cambridge Grain & Feed fortune.

Sad though that like many wives in 1954, her marriage began to stale… no matter how hard she tried to keep it fresh, exciting, and new. Some of her girlfriends would commiserate over martinis and bridge; Jan Calber made sure that she and Calvin took at least one separate vacation a year, often two or three, and hers were to Paris, Rome, or the Caribbean, and 5-star all the way. Helen Lort had a large and growing collection of the astounding jewelry that Larry added to on even the slightest occasions. Helen often said that “diamonds indeed are a girl’s best friend!”. And Penny Fretser was known for her incredible wardrobe and the new Cadillac convertible, both of which were updated every Fall, and often coordinated so that she looked like a magazine cover when she’d arrive at the club for afternoon mixers!

All of her friends seemed to be in the strange thrall of that 1950s glazed-eye thing that science fiction films hinted at and the politicians warned about as a conspiracy of some sort from overseas. But Mandy genuinely and deeply loved her Jim. And being so basically warm-hearted and genuine in her simple needs and dreams, she didn’t care about diamonds, furs, fancy cars or faraway places… or being far away from Jim, even though his business trips seemed to be getting more and more frequent and lasting longer and longer. Still, Mandy stayed as cheerful as possible, cooking, cleaning, and making their home a Midwestern showplace just like she had promised the world (and herself!) back in Home Ec. and the 4H Club. Perhaps that’s why, finally, after several years of the same dour grind of her marriage, she awoke one Christmas morning to a present that meant so much more to her. Jim was away for an extended time again and wouldn’t be back until some time in mid-January… or later. And Mandy couldn’t figure out how the present had gotten inside the house or under the tree… but there it was. Sparkling new as if it had been dropped from a fancy showroom window at Macy’s right into her own little suburban living room… The Hoover 28!... with all the latest attachments and tools… and a Moth-omizer.

Mandy sat there on the floor, her bright blue eyes beginning to prick with happy tears, her smile so wide that it actually hurt her dimpled cheeks. And she thought about what Helen and Penny had told her about wives who are abandoned for weeks on end by their husbands and what they do about it. And she remembered that Jan had invited her to go away on a camping vacation with her some time soon, and maybe they’d plan it at a bridge party or barbecue that Mandy could throw for all of them… and wouldn’t that be nice.

And so, on that December 25th in 1954, Mrs. Mandy Cambridge née Fletcher of 1250 Elco Drive, knelt on her living room carpet by the perfect Christmas tree, taking each attachment and tool out of the Hoover 28 packing, reading their descriptions and possible uses, and marveling at what the Moth-omizer might be for, or what it might be used for. The world suddenly seemed oh-so-bright!... because Santa had indeed been very good to Mandy.

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