title: Memories From Maple Street U.S.A: The Best Christmas Ever
author:  Cheryl Pierson 
description: To relive that magical day, Christmas 1987 and capture into words that very special and wonderful feeling has been a dream come true for this enthusiastic author! Nothing brings more pleasure to the heart of man than to observe those magical moments in others lives and to be able to recreate that moment for others to experience. The frigatility of time permits a memory in part or vague recollection of some of those special moments. The ability to pen these moments capturing each detail however great or small is the gift of words. If by my observation, I may reconstruct a special feeling, a moment, a day, an hour, or a story in words then I have shared a gift that too often stays quietly tucked into the heart remembered only by a tear falling down a cheek, a smile when a certain tune plays for us, or a heartfelt moment remembered in time from a past experience.<div><br><div></div><div>It is with great joy that I have written about one of these experiences in my own life that have forever changed what Christmas means to me and the joy of sharing my story with friends, family and now the world. As you read this and other heartfelt stories, may you too be reminded of the gift of what special memories captured into words can do for the soul.</div></div>
zlib_text: “Let me see—you don’t like
  to say ‘Merry
  Christmas’…”
  He pulled his chin away, but she cupped
  his strong jaw and kept him facing her.
  The late-night shadow of his beard was
  scraggly and dark and added an air of
  menace to him.
  “You don’t like anyone hinting that
  you’re a good cop who KCPD could
  still use, and you don’t like admitting
  when you have feelings for someone.”
  Holly stroked her thumb across his lips.
  This guy made her toes curl inside her
  
  socks and brace for trouble.
  The elevator hit a gentle bump and
  slowed its descent. “Am I pretty clear as
  to what your words are telling me?”
  He opened his mouth, about to deny the
  truth.
  Instead, he reawakened his dragon’s
  heart with another kiss….
  
  JULIE MILLER
  KANSAS CITY
  CHRISTMAS
  
  TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
  AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY •
  HAMBURG
  STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN
  • MADRID
  PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST •
  AUCKLAND
  
  For the Class of 1978. Fulton High School, Fulton,
  Missouri.
  Happy Anniversary to us. Anytime a place can take
  a