Nutcrackers are the most ubiquitous Christmas decorations in
Gunnels Manse.
When our children were young, Marice discovered a love of
nutcrackers, perhaps for reasons I’ll explain in a bit. As a result, nutcrackers
abound throughout our Grapevine home at Christmastime.
A giant nutcracker stands in our entryway. Two large
nutcrackers guard either side of our fireplace. Smaller nutcrackers fight for
attention from shelves, tabletops and consoles.
And more than 20 nutcrackers of all types hang from the
branches of The Beast, our Christmas tree.
Here’s a favorite, one of a set of five that Marice
discovered on a shopping trip long ago. They are inspired by the artwork of 19th-century
political cartoonist Thomas Nast, who created the modern image of Santa Claus.
These nutcrackers are the heaviest ornaments on The Beast.
Placing them is difficult since the strongest branches that can take their
weight are not the most visible. But I make an effort because they are
beautiful and give the tree a vintage look I love.
Why nutcrackers? Well, why not? The original story on which “The
Nutcracker” is based is quite wonderful, the ballet is awesome and Tchaikovsky’s
music divine. I’d say that’s inspiration enough.
But there’s another, more personal, reason why Marice and I
find nutcrackers irresistible.
When our daughter was young, Marice enrolled her in the
Grapevine Dance Academy. There Rachel learned the rudiments of ballet and other
dance forms. She loved it and demonstrated real potential.
Each December, Grapevine Dance staged a production of “The
Nutcracker” to demonstrate the talents of its students. The older, high
school-aged girls danced the featured roles, and the younger ones were cast in
minor parts, depending on their age and experience.
Rachel performed in two Nutcrackers, the first as a mouse
and the second as a dancing nutcracker. From a parent’s point of view, the programs
were magical. The kids worked hard and danced their hearts out. I get a little
choked up just thinking about them.
At about the same time, nutcrackers began to come home with
Marice from her shopping trips. A coincidence? Hmm, I think not.
The dance academy always struggled to find male dancers for
its Nutcrackers. Male ballet students are a little rare in Northeast Tarrant. In
Rachel’s last production, the academy director convinced a couple of members of
Grapevine High’s football team to help out.
These guys were a far cry from Baryshnikov. Mostly, they
just stood stoically on stage while the girls twirled and swooped around them.
Occasionally, they were called upon to lift the dancers above their heads,
which they managed to do with a modicum of grace and without dropping the girls
on their keisters.
That year, the Grapevine Mustangs made the state football
playoffs, and the team was scheduled to play out of town on the day of the
Saturday performance. It was an afternoon game, and everyone knew the guys were
going to be cutting it close to make it back in time.
As curtain time neared, anxiety levels were peaking when a
car squealed into the parking lot, and the guys jumped out and ran to don their
costumes. Everyone, including members of the audience who knew what was
happening, breathed a sigh of relief.
The performance went swimmingly, and the Mustangs in the
cast did themselves proud. Afterward, the kids, faces aglow, mingled with the audience in the
theater lobby. Our gridiron heroes, their muscled thighs squeezed into tights,
stood awkwardly to the side, obviously wishing mightily they were
somewhere else.
I approached and
shook their hands, congratulating them for not pulling a muscle on stage that
night.
“By the way,” I added mischievously, “I know why you’re
doing this. You’re here for the girls.” (To be sure, the featured dancers would
have set any high school boy’s heart aflutter.)
The two young men glanced uneasily at each other and said
nothing. Satisfied, I grinned and walked away.
In case you’re wondering, the Mustangs won that playoff game.
They went on to win state later that month.
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