Tis The Season

Family trip to get the Christmas tree yesterday. I grew up w/fake trees but I won't have one in my house now that it's my name on the mortgage payment. Sure it's always cold and wet when I'm tying it to the roof (much easier now that we've the Explorer instead of to my Accord), I inadvertently end up w/tree sap on my hands and clothes, and have to make a million adjustments to get it straight in the tree stand, but it's worth it. It's a Christmas Tree, not a Christmas form-molded. Sure it's easier, my neighbors comes right out of the box and the "limbs" drop in place automatically with lights pre-attached; but where're the memories in that?

For the past few years I've been going to Home Depot; large selection and low price. (The drawback being that all their trees are wrapped tighter than mummies and you have to slice open the twine to make sure you're getting a Charlie Brown tree.) Since it was only the 4th I assumed we'd have a sizable selection, but the tree area at the Franklin HD was 2/3's empty and those left were either misshapen or had large bare spots. The Douglas Firs were even turning brown already (though I always go w/the shorter needled Frasiers). To me it's just one more sign of the over-commercialization and premature beginning of Christmas.

The Thanksgiving plates aren't even cleared from the table now before it's time to hang the lights and hit the stores (some had sales Thanksgiving Day!). The town square/circle in Franklin was on the same schedule for their Christmas lights and when I was at Target the day after Halloween they'd cleared the costumes and had put up displays for wreathes and lights already!

Now I'm pro-capitalism. I've nothing against Wal-Mart, oil and pharmaceutical companies or the other boogie-men of industry, but when we sacrifice a holiday like Thanksgiving with its deep historical and spiritual meanings to our nation to get an earlier start on an additional $10 off a crappy portable DVD player than we've a problem.

Long story short, we went up the road to the Cool Springs Home Depot (how's that for brand loyalty?) and bought the first tree we saw.