My Christmas Eve

(Retired State Trooper Bob Welsh tells a story of his highway patrol days.)

The hour is late, should go to bed,

Near midnight, I believe,

But memories keep me wide awake

This snowy Christmas Eve.

Yes, memories of my kids moved on,

Each has their separate life,

And how the holidays have changed,

Since angels took my wife.

The toys, the food, the Christmas cheer,

My wife would bear the load,

'Cause I would work most holidays,

State trooper on the road.

Just sitting in my easy chair,

So many years retired,

I reminisce on times gone by,

On all that has transpired.

Of all the many happenings,

That seem to come to light,

A multitude of them occurred,

Right on this very night.

A drunken woman in a wreck,

Who died on Christmas Eve,

Leaves memories of a tragic case,

Most people can't believe.

I had to drive where she lived,

To tell her next of kin,

Found the rundown mobile home,

She had been living in.

The person answering the door,

I still recall today,

A little girl 'bout 4 years old,

She said, "I'm Sue McCay."

I asked her if her dad was home,

And felt the longest pause,

She said, "My daddy ran away,"

You must be Santa Claus.

My mommy said you'd come tonight,

If I just stayed in bed,

And bring a pretty doll for me,

Is what my mommy said.

I broke the law that Christmas Eve,

Did not call child care,

They'd merely put her in a room,

And that I couldn't bear.

I picked her up and took her home,

My wife tucked her in bed,

And wrapped a pretty doll for her,

Just like her mommy said.

Adopted by a loving home,

And soon they moved away,

I won't forget that Christmas Eve,

And little Sue McCay.

Another bitter Christmas Eve,

A blizzard to behold,

Had left a family in a ditch,

Just trapped there in the cold.

By grace of God, I spotted them,

All cold and gaunt with fright,

Drove them to a motel room,

To safely spend the night.

One Christmas Eve, a homeless man,

All shivering and wet,

Was trying hard to get a ride,

I'm sure he'd never get.

I picked him up and drove him,

To a diner on the hill,

To warm his bones and left him,

With a five-dollar bill.

Strange how when you're all alone,

With memories you recall,

You think of everything you've done,

And was it worth it all?

I think about my God, my job,

My children, and my wife,

Would I do it all the same,

Could I relive my life?

Then comes a knock upon my door,

This late! Who could it be?

A neighbor or a Santa Claus,

Come to visit me?

The figure standing in the cold,

Gives me a sudden fright,

A trooper with that solemn look,

Dear God, who's died tonight?

I'm flashin' back through bygone years,

And how I'd often stood,

On someone's porch to bring them news,

And it was never good.

Is this how life gets back at me,

For misery I've induced?

Where pain I've caused some other folks,

Has now come home to roost.

But looking in the trooper's eyes,

My mind is in a whirl,

I see a pleasant countenance,

The trooper is a girl.

She smiled and reached to shake my hand,

And silence wasn't broke,

Until a tear rolled down her cheek,

And then she softly spoke.

I'm sure you don't remember me,

But thought I'd stop and say,

"God bless you on Christmas Eve,

"I'm Trooper Sue McCay."