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From William Bennett, author of the Buffalo Chips.
"True Story of Rudolph"
A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his
drafty apartment window into the chilling December night.
His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing.
Bobs wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't
understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up
into her dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody
else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears.
Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been
the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob.
Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys.
He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often
called names he'd rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was
different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college,
married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a
copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression. Then he
was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived.
Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now
Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in
the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.
Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't
even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift,
he was determined a make one - a storybook! Bob had created an
animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to
little Barbara to give her comfort and hope. Again and again Bob
told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the
character? What was the story all about? The story Bob May created
was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created
was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A
little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished
the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas
Day. But the story doesn't end there.
The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the
little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the
rights to print the book. Wards went on to print, Rudolph the
Red-Nosed Reindeer and distribute it to children visiting Santa
Claus in their stores. By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed
more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major
publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an
updated version of the book. In an unprecedented gesture of
kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The
book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and
Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from
the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter. But the story
doesn't end there either.
Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to
Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists
as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore , it was recorded by the singing
cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in
1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any
other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas."
The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long
ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May
learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being
different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing.
Merry Christmas 2008
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