Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Holiday memories are priceless

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Dec. 13, 2001 | 8:23 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Reach her at deskin@ lasvegassun.com.

I love the hustle and bustle of pre-Christmas shopping and planning, even if it does get frustrating at times.

As a one-time shop-till-you-drop person, having health problems that require a less-hectic schedule is disconcerting. But age does bring restrictions. Our one advantage over youth is a wealth of memories of Christmases past.

For my immediate family the dearest memories of the holiday season are of the lean years rather than the more prosperous times. Those are days when the best gift we could offer each other was love.

It was during the Depression years. Our family had moved to Reno from Yerington so I could attend the university.

My dad, a miner who always dreamed of hitting the big payday, was out of a job, but working some old placer claims to keep the family in food and the necessities.

We couldn't afford a Christmas tree, but about a week before Christmas my father came home from the hills with a scrubby pinon pine. Each of us children had been given 50 cents to purchase gifts for the entire family; all of which was spent at Woolworth's five-and-dime store.

Our Christmas dinner was meager -- no turkey, chicken was cheaper.

And yet, when we gathered around that sparsely decorated tree on Christmas eve and sang the lovely Christmas carols together, our greatest gift was the love we had for each other.

Our parents cared deeply for their children. It broke their hearts not to be able to offer more in the way of material things, but to this day I am grateful to them for their unqualified love and support -- truly the greatest gift parents can give.

Henri Lewin, the entrepreneur who once was Mr. Hotel in Las Vegas, doesn't let old friends forget the good old days. His holiday greetings are always unique -- this year more than ever as he sent special notes to everyone from Mayor Oscar Goodman, attorney Bob Faiss, restaurateur Freddie Glussman, builder Irwin Molasky and the Sun's Brian Greenspun, et al.

Lewin spent 22 years with Hilton Hotels and currently operates a hotel and gaming consulting firm at Lake Tahoe. He is remembered best for his many unique promotional events.

The television report on Kuwait last month, hosted by Mike Wallace, reminded me of the words of a psychology professor I had in college. "The best way to lose a friend," he claimed, "is to get them obligated to you."

Apparently that works in Kuwait, where, if Wallace's interviews are to be believed, anti-American sentiment is rife and growing. Reminds me of the old adage, "With friends like that, who needs enemies?"

Who can watch the news on television without feeling deep compassion for the thousands of displaced and miserable victims of war?

To have been born in America is a special privilege for which we all should be thankful.

Do cowboys and cowgirls have more fun? The National Final Rodeo crowds would tend to prove it.