Best of Humungus
The Movie That Ruined Christmas
One family’s Yuletide saga
- Humungus is dead, but that doesn’t mean I won’t occasionally share some of my favorite pieces from the last three years. This essay is about Christmas, family, and gangsters. If you liked it, sign up for my newsletter. Thanks for reading, and happy holidays to you and yours.
This is the story of The Great DeVore Family Christmas Tragedy of 1990.
I have never told it before. It is a sad story that, nonetheless, teaches a valuable life lesson and that lesson is this: Don’t get your hopes up. In this miserably short and often beautiful life, we must all strive to keep our hopes sideways. It is for the best.
This story ends in tears, but it begins with laughter, joy, and all of the happy emotions we associate with the holiday season.
First, the main characters. My father. He was a man who loved Christmas, cigars, and walking around the house in his underwear, which embarrassed me deeply. It was his house, however, and he liked to be comfortable. Next, my mother. She also loved Christmas. She was an artist and every year would transform the house into a “Winter Wonderland,” “Santa’s Workshop” or “The Land of 1,000 Baby Jesuses.” With a snap of her fingers, she could conjure plates of cookies and…
