Remembery’s Rick Neece posted a charming photograph of a Christmas tree ornament at clusterflock, and the sight sparked a remembery of my own favorite childhood ornament, “Two-Star Hennessy”. Two-Star Hennessy was a golden ball figured with two glittering pink stars, one centered in each hemisphere. (Its name, bestowed by my father, referred to Hennessy cognac; two stars perhaps designated V.S.)
I must have been four (perhaps I was five) when Two-Star Hennessy’s spell so enchanted me that I hooked it over my ear (to this day I love big dramatic earrings) and whirled about the living room in a dizzy waltz.
And shattered Two-Star Hennessy.
I felt as though a shard of rose-gold glass had pierced my heart.
But you know what? Come next Christmas (or maybe it was that very same Yule), another Two-Star Hennessy appeared on our tree. Thus did I learn of mass production, and with that knowledge came a slight but perceptible rift between my household world and the realm of enchantment.
(Cross-posted at Remembery)
Sheila Ryan
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