A new tradition
By John Joyce
Published in News on November 29, 2014 11:05 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Bikash, 9, sits atop of the Capps family's SUV with a tree from the Optimist Club Christmas tree lot on Saturday. Bikash is visiting Goldsboro from Nepal with Children of the World International Children's Choir and the Capps family is hosting him.
A Nepalese boy throws a well-timed kick at Kevin Capps' head from atop the man's SUV.
Negotiations have broken down.
Capps, dodging at the last second, regrets his "promise" to the boy just a few moments before.
"Come on, you have to get down from there," Capps says.
"No," 9-year-old Bikash replies. "You said."
*
Capps, his wife Emmeline and their two daughters, Calliegh, 15, and Sophie, 12, are playing host family to two boys this weekend.
Bikash, from Nepal, is one of them.
He and the other, 8-year-old David, of Honduras, are part of the Children of the World holiday exchange program.
Seven local families are hosting a total of 14 children -- many of them orphans -- who will be singing Sunday evening at The Bridge church at 9 p.m.
The Capps family decided to take Bikash and David Christmas tree shopping Saturday afternoon to give the boys a glimpse of what the holidays are like in the United States -- stopping by the Optimist Club's annual Christmas tree lot along Cashwell Drive.
From inside a maze of six-, eight- and 12-foot Christmas trees, Bikash and David's heavily accented voices cry out to each other.
"Look at this one," David says. "This is the one."
Bikash, though, had already moved on.
"Uncle," he yells. "Uncle. This one."
Kevin is "Uncle."
Emmeline is "Auntie."
Once the right tree is selected, Optimist Club volunteers Timmy Lynn and Gary Pender set to work cutting the lower limbs so the tree will sit up in its stand.
David watches in awe as the saw clips branches and trimmings fall away one at a time.
Emmeline takes a hammer away from Bikash.
"Uncle" jokes that the two boys will be riding home with the tree -- on the roof of the family car -- and tells them to put on their jackets because it will be cold.
He doesn't realize that minutes later he will be dodging feet and trading away his sunglasses for a moment of compliance to get Bikash off the roof and into the car.
*
From atop the SUV, Bikash belts out orders to the men tying the tree to the roof.
David, already realizing that he will not, in fact, get to ride home on the roof, folds his arms.
"You were tricking us," he repeats in disbelief.
Emmeline beams at both boys.
"You just wish you could keep them," she said.
This is the Capps' first year as a host family, but it will certainly not be their last.
"The boys woke us up at 6:30 this morning. We had to bargain with them to go back to sleep," she said.
The next thing she knew, the boys were again standing in her bedroom -- fully dressed -- saying it was time to get up.
"That was at 7:30," she said.
*
As the family herded the boys into the car and drove away, Lynn and Pender returned to their duties.
Pender looked down at his speckled hands, still covered in sap after having just washed them.
"Soap won't take off sap," he said. "Mayonnaise."
Pender learned the trick years back from a tree farmer.
"You sit down at a restaurant and take you a mayonnaise packet," he said. "Your hands are going to be clean."
Lynn and Pender have been volunteering at the Optimist Club's Christmas tree lot for 15 years.
This year, the group that supports programs for Wayne County youth has more than 300 trees for sale, "With all of the money going back to the kids of Wayne County" Lynn said.
The lot is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., from now until they run out of trees. On Sundays, the hours are 1 to 6 p.m.
"And we are always looking for volunteers," Pender said.
Anyone is welcome to come by and pitch in -- selling, cutting and loading Christmas trees for eager families -- ready to share a bit of themselves with loved ones and with strangers alike this holiday season.
*
Bikash and David won't be here on Christmas.
They are only staying through the weekend, Capps said.
Still, he is certain they enjoyed their time Christmas tree shopping -- a first for both boys.
"We have Christmas, but we do nothing," David said. "My family, we do nothing. We eat something, but."
Someone chimes in and says eating is the best part, and they like food.
"Me too," David says, lifting up his jacket and sticking out his gut.
"Look at my belly," he says, disappearing back into the trees to play.