COVID-19 AND THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

Every morning Herschell Ostrepeller woke up, jumped in the shower, brushed his teeth, put on his deodorant, and spritzed on some aftershave. He liked Polo Black. He would then put on his Teffilin (phylacteries) and focus on saying the morning prayers.

Once he was finished he would get to work. Herschell ran his own little Hedge Fund and he spent most of his day buying and selling stocks. He enjoyed what he did, but it was Christmas Eve and things would all be closing at one pm. He would have two days off to catch his breath and relax.

Covid-19 had been a tough go. He had been pretty isolated and communicated with his family via Zoom and Facetime. If it wouldn't have been for his trusty Beagle, Freckles he would have gone crazy.

At one fifteen Herschell looked outside and it was slowly starting to snow. He got dressed, grabbed Freckle's leash, and headed out.

He was at the end of the driveway when he ran into Leslie the woman who delivered his mail. She thanked him profusely for the Christmas card and gift he had left for her in his mailbox. Herschell and Freckles stood a healthy distance away from her as she started talking to him. ''Thank you for always being so generous Herschell. It's a real pleasure to deliver your mail and I feel fortunate that we've gotten to know each other. I love my route, I do feel bad for Ms. Trull, she always made such a big deal about Christmas, but this year nothing.''

Ms. Trull was Herschell's next-door neighbour. She had been a Kindergarten teacher and every kid who had ever passed through her classroom loved her. She was in her early eighties and was a kind woman. Herschell knew she loved Christmas because she always decorated her house with festive lights and had huge Candy Canes and a Santa on her front lawn. Every year she would drop off a present for Herschell and talk about her plans for Christmas. She was always proud of her Christmas tree. This year because of the threat of Covid-19 she was afraid to go out and as a result, her Christmas seemed cancelled.

After wishing Leslie a Merry Christmas, Herschell went over to his neighbour's house and looked in the front window, there was no Christmas tree. There were no lights on the outside of the house and things looked sad. It didn't seem like Ms. Trull place at all.

The snow was falling and it was pretty to watch, but Herschell didn't feel right. He knew the stores would be manic and with Covid-19 floating around he would be taking a chance going to one, but he had no choice. His watch said it was two twenty.

After putting Freckles back in the house Herschell took off for (as expected) a crazy busy Walmart. He tried to avoid people (which was a difficult job) and after finding what he was looking for, grabbed the items, and headed home.

When he got back Herschell called ''The Gourmet Chicken'' and ordered a Christmas dinner to be delivered to Ms. Trull. Next he spent forty minutes putting together a fake Christmas tree. He put on different ornaments that he had hurriedly purchased and then walked the tree over to the front porch of Ms. Trull. He placed the gift he bought for her (and had rapidly wrapped) under the faux tree. He then got to work sorting the Christmas lights that he had bought. He had no experience with hanging lights and as the snow was getting heavier it became a challenge as he wasn't the most balanced guy in the universe and the ladder kept moving. Somehow (a bit of a miracle) he got it done. Finally, he inflated a huge Reindeer with a Red Nose which he put out on Ms. Trull's front lawn.

He plugged everything in and watched with a sense of satisfaction as everything lit up. Against the background of the snow, the lights looked beautiful and the Reindeer looked like it could really lead Santa on his gift-giving mission. Ms. Trull's house was Christmasy once again.

Herschell went home and phoned Ms. Trull. She answered on the eighth ring. ''Ms. Trull, it's your neighbour Herschell Ostrepeller. If you go to your front door and open it up, you'll see a Christmas tree and a gift for you. It's for your living room cause I noticed you didn't have your tree set up.'' Ms. Trull asked for a minute and five minutes later she started talking again. ''Oh, Thank You Herschell, that was so kind of you. I put the tree by my fireplace. I am so grateful to have a Christmas tree. You didn't need to buy me a gift, I am so appreciative of the tree, I have never missed having one in my house, this would have been the first year. I'll open the gift tomorrow morning. Thank You so much Herschell it is so nice of you, it really wasn't necessary and I don't know how to Thank You.''

Herschell smiled at his phone. ''That's okay Ms. Trull, being able to give you something back for all the years you've been such an amazing neighbour is my gift to myself. If you look outside your window you'll see a giant Rudolph the Reindeer and there are Christmas lights shining on your house. At seven o'clock there will be a Christmas dinner delivered to your door. I hope you enjoy it, Merry Christmas Ms. Trull.'

The next sound Herschell heard was sobbing. ''You have turned what I thought was going to be my worst Christmas into a very lovely one. I will never forget it. Thank You Herschell.'' After wishing her a Merry Christmas he hung up.

Herschell sat back feeling very satisfied. He knew that showing warmth, caring, and love was universal. He had never hung Christmas lights or bought a Christmas tree but he had enjoyed the experience. The fact he had made a wonderful woman happy, made him feel really good. He knew the essence of Christmas was all about goodwill to each other.

Herschell hoped that Ms. Trull would enjoy the Christmas Eve dinner he had ordered. It sounded delicious. A bottle of red wine, a harvest salad, a quarter chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and apple pie. As far as her gift went, Herschell wanted to get her something special so he trusted his gut instincts. His logic was simple, how could you go wrong giving someone a fruit cake. It seemed very Christmas appropriate.