OKJo

<p class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(107, 36, 178);">Round 5 sing a Christmas song your choice</strong></p><p class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(107, 36, 178);">Give us a ho ho ho!! or merry Christmas or a few words</strong></p><p class="ql-align-center"><strong style="color: rgb(107, 36, 178);">At the end of the song that you would like to say to everyone.</strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://singsnap-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/message-board/threads/K7P1/5ed8b41b2c_NOD9_media.gif"></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">Peevey was a child star who was born in&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City,_Oklahoma" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oklahoma City, Oklahoma</a><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">. Her family moved to&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponca_City,_Oklahoma" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ponca City, Oklahoma</a><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">, when she was five. </span><span style="color: rgb(119, 119, 119);">The song first bopped its way into our hearts and heads in 1953 when it debuted on the Ed Sullivan Show. The ten-year-old sensation, Gayla Peevey, delivered this catchy tune with such irresistible enthusiasm that it immediately became a holiday staple. </span><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">When released nationally by&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Records" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Columbia Records</a><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">&nbsp;the song shot to the top of the charts, and the&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Zoo_and_Botanical_Garden" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oklahoma City Zoo</a><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">&nbsp;acquired a baby&nbsp;</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">hippo</a><span style="color: rgb(32, 33, 34);">&nbsp;named Matilda.</span></p><p><br></p><p>Peevey clarified that the song was not originally recorded as a fundraiser.&nbsp;Instead, the Oklahoma City Zoo and a local newspaper, picking up on the popularity of the song and Peevey's local roots, launched the Gayla Peevey hippo fund so Peevey could be presented with an actual hippopotamus on Christmas.</p><p>The campaign succeeded, and she was presented with an actual hippopotamus, which – as had been planned all along – she donated to the city zoo.&nbsp;The hippopotamus lived for nearly 50 years.&nbsp;In 2017, Peevey, then 73 years old, was again present when the Oklahoma City Zoo acquired a rare&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_hippopotamus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pygmy hippopotamus</a>&nbsp;from the&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Zoo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">San Diego Zoo</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>For this, I channeled my inner 10-year-old. </p><p><br></p><p>Thanks for the listens and comments,</p><p>Jo</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://singsnap-cdn.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/message-board/threads/XK5B/3c94521b68_PUBG_media.gif"></p>