A Red-Nosed Christmas

I have long been a sucker for a good quiz, so when Facebook came along I was delighted to jump on that Facebook quiz "bandwagon."  It was all for fun of course, and I never put much stock in the results.

Then I took three different quizzes -- What Character from 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer' are You?, What Christmas Movie is Your Favorite? and Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You? - which all revealed that I am Rudolph.

Okay, this made me click my heels three times and chant "I do believe in Facebook Quizzes! I do believe in Facebook Quizzes!"  You see, I really AM Rudolph!  Zimbio "gets" me.  It thinks I'm cute.

As a tiny misfit child, the song "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" really spoke to me.  I felt for the poor little reindeer who was rejected by his peers just because he was different.  I knew how Rudolph felt, being excluded from all those reindeer games.  But then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa needed Rudolph to guide his sleigh because of his shiny bright nose, which (if you saw it) you might even say it glowed. 

NOW, all the reindeer loved him!  I was so happy for Rudolph!  But the best part was that the very thing that made him different also made him special.  Rudolph gave me hope that that could happen to me someday too.

Then in 1964 the Rankin and Bass version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" hit our small screens -a musical re-telling of Rudolph's story and adventures complete with Burl Ives voicing the Narrator Snowman and cutting-edge slow-motion animation using claymation puppets.

If there was one thing I have always loved even more than a little quiz it was any story where the underdog prevailed.  The "Rudolph" television special did not disappoint.  Rudolph has a love interest named Clarice, a pretty little doe with impossibly long eyelashes who likes Rudolph even though he has a red nose, and who sings a lovely song entitled, There's Always Tomorrow (for dreams to come true).

He teams up with Hermie, an elf who wants to be a dentist, "just a couple of misfits" running off to escape their realities, and embarking on a number of adventures with the help of a prospector Yukon Cornelius.  Eventually they visit the Island of Misfit Toys, where toys that are different and not wanted by any boys and girls live.

In the end, Rudolph gets the gig saving Christmas and the girl, Hermie gets to practice dentistry without a license, Santa helps the misfit toys find children who will love them and we got an enduring Christmas classic that celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

Now I estimate that I have watched this television special about 40 times, but when I was viewing my 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition (a gift from Mr. Rip) it still hadn't gotten old for me. When I posted my photo on Facebook of the Ultimate Rudolph Figurine Collection that I picked up , it received 45 Likes (and counting).

Talk about an underdog prevailing.