Off We Go To Christmas Dinner At Panda Inn!
Many of us are "Empty Nesters" meaning our kids have their own traditions or perhaps they are traveling? So, we decided to celebrate Christmas by joining together at a local Chinese restaurant and watch, "The Christmas Story". Please join the fun!
"Whoa! It's smiling at us!"
Did You Know? - Jean Shepherd's book "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash", which "A Christmas Story" is based on, is a collection of semi-autobiographical short stories that Shepherd wrote for "Playboy" magazine during the 1960s.
Joe Liles Brought His Camera! We Have Pictures!
Paul and Amy.... A pair to draw too!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Paul & Amy... Looking good!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Making sure all is going OK!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Mike, Greg, and Paul... The dynamic trio!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Did You Know? - In addition to providing the voice-over narration, writer Jean Shepherd had a cameo appearance in the movie as a grouchy department store customer who tells Ralphie to go to the back of the Santa line.
Sue, Paul, Cyndy, and Bob!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Love those Christmas colors!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
The choir takes a rest!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Hey Hey The gangs all here!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Charlie is have a load of fun!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Alex is giving us his "special" smile!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
The Zaitz and Liles
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
They must be planning a Temecula visit!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Paul and Jan visit the choir!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Worlds worst selfie!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
We had the entire bar!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
The movie kept on running!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Sliding down!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Did You Know? - The modestly budgeted little comedy opened in 1983 the week before Thanksgiving on fewer than 900 screens. The film took in about $2 million its first weekend and double that Thanksgiving weekend – solid business for the time. The movie was getting strong word-of-mouth support. But, MGM hadn't counted on the movie receiving much success and did not schedule distribution to more than the opening screens for the lead up to Christmas.
Thus A Christmas Story disappeared from theatres. Abruptly elbowed into the theatrical void by the bigger seasonal studio movies of the day, most notably Scarface and Christine. Ultimately, A Christmas Story collected about $19 million at the box office. It was a good showing, but not great.
The food was fantastic!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Mike says he can do it in one single bite!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Did You Know? - The movie "A Christmas Story" might never have been made had it not been for another, decidedly less reputable comedic creature – "Porky's." That's right. One of the most beloved holiday movies largely owes its existence to an infamous, unabashedly crude teen comedy.
In the late 1960s, "A Christmas Story" director Bob Clark was driving to a date's house when he happened upon a broadcast of radio personality and writer Jean Shepherd's recollections of growing up in Indiana in the late '30s and early '40s. Clark wound up driving around the block for almost an hour, glued to the radio until the program was over.
"My date was not happy," Clark said, but he knew right away he wanted to make a movie out of the stories, many of which first appeared in Playboy magazine and were collected in Shepherd's 1966 book, "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash"
What to do with gift wrap!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
No! This is NOT the Easter Parade!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Looks pretty good on Bob!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
The fortune cookie gets devoured!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
We have a natural ham right here!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Paul did bring the camera!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Paul is flashing again?"
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Thumbs up!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Did You Know? - A Californian man bought the Christmas Story house sight unseen off eBay in 2004. Brian Jones was living in San Diego and encountered the house for sale on eBay. At that point, it was a duplex rented out to tenants and didn't have any amenities featured in the movie, including a staircase. The asking price was $99,900, but Jones paid $150,000 to ensure he'd get the house. Jones didn't know where Cleveland was, let alone what to do with the house. He decided to transform the house into a museum, replete with set pieces and details to look like the Parkers actually lived there (interiors of the house were filmed on a soundstage in Canada). After a six-figure renovation, A Christmas Story House and Museum opened to the public in 2006 and is now a year-round tourist attraction .
Merry Christmas to all!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
The wine is disappearing!
(Courtesy of Joe Liles)
Paul Snapped A Few Also!
"I am a teenager so where is the grub??"
Bob ignores and finds the menu!
Robin... As beautiful as usual!
The camera is at the ready!
A serious moment? This can not be!
Joe with Mom and Dad and Grandsons Charlie and Alex
Father and Son.... This worries Amy a lot!
The food disappears!
One word... Yummy!
Bob demonstrates how to put half the food in the box...
and the other half on the table!
Tummies are full!
Joe and Amy!
All smiles!
Joe, like his dad, has a beautiful spouse!
"What? No more food?"
The Christmas shirt comes out!
Quotation To Remember From Christmas Vacation:
Aunt Bethany: What's that sound? You hear it? It's a funny squeaky sound.
Uncle Lewis: You couldn't hear a dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant.
Heading home!
"Another successful day!"
"Blimey.... This is the proper way to celebrate Christmas!"
