Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 5, 1995 TAG: 9511040002
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
So begins Truman Capote's classic short story, ``A Christmas Memory.'' It's a tale of two best friends - a 7-year-old boy and his 60-something cousin - making their last annual batch of Christmas fruitcakes together.
Hear them count the change from the year's Fruitcake Fund tucked into the beaded purse under the bed. Smell the whiskey they buy from the mysterious Mr. Haha with the glowering, scar-studded face.
Watch them mail off their fruitcakes to people like President Roosevelt and a missionary in Borneo. See them swirl a pair of hand-made kites among the clouds late one Christmas afternoon. And savor the story's final line:
``As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes.''
And now, use your own imagination.
The Extra section is sponsoring a creative-writing contest this holiday season. Send us your favorite holiday memory - or make up a holiday story. Please double-space and type your entries, which should be no more than 1,000 words long. Include your name and daytime telephone number.
The best story will be published in the Extra section on Christmas Day with an illustration by our art department. The winning writer will receive $300 - in time for that last-minute shopping rush.
The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1. Mail your entry to: A Christmas Memory, Features, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010.
by CNB