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The 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. Bob's 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 to 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
2010
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