Blinded by the Light

Many people on our street do some sort of outdoor decorating for the holidays. Like clockwork, the day after Thanksgiving all of a sudden ladders and extension cords litter everyone's lawns. There's more men outside than we've seen since summertime and *poof* -- like magic, when night comes, the whole street is lit up. Our outdoor displays are limited to a couple of lit animatronic reindeer with a couple of small green trees and red star balls hung from our Japanese Maple. I'd like to do more but Tom refused to hang from the rafters like every other Manly Man (TM) in the neighborhood just to put up strings of icicle lights and some illuminated wreathes. Despite my best efforts, his masculinity is still intact even without engaging in "Deck the House" rituals. Oh well... I'll keep trying. It helps get me in the mood to come down the street at night and see everyone's homes looking like something out of a fairy tale - lights are so pretty.

Even with most of us doing something festive for the holidays, no one beats our neighbors at the end of the block. They're the kind you see on TV - whose goal is to have their house seen from space. There's a ferris wheel with stuffed animals, a penguin colony, wooden standups of the Grinch, Cindy Lou Who, and Max, a giant inflatable merry go round, tons of Santas, etc... The enormous "Winter Wonderland" sign greets you at the front, Santa parachuting from a prop plane greets you in the backyard. Now honestly, I'm as festive as the next person, but sometimes it feels like the sun didn't quite set once they're in high gear.

Oh, did I forget to mention the outdoor stereo permanently affixed to 93.9 The Lite - All Xmas Music, All Day? Sometimes I hear "Pa rum pa pa pum" in my sleep, like the Tell Tale Heart.

"...I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men, but the noise steadily increased. O God! what COULD I do? I foamed -- I raved -- I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder -- louder -- louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly , and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! -- no, no? They heard! -- they suspected! -- they KNEW! -- they were making a mockery of my horror! -- this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony!" -EAP

Oh wait... it's not a dead beating heart. It's supposed to be a drum. Duh - how could I have possibly been confused?

The girls love the display and ask me every year if we can go buy more stuff for our yard. They gaze longingly at the rows of outdoor decorations whenever we cruise the holiday isles at Target and shout excitedly at the humongous inflatable characters on display at Lowes. But I'm going to stick with my more modest display. Somehow, throwing the switch on several thousand volts of lights, music, and chaos doesn't fit well with how I want to think of Christmas. Our space is quieter, more gentle, more inviting I think for our friends and family who'll be coming soon. We can imagine a "Silent Night" over here. I wonder about how silent things will be down at the end of the block.