Skip to main content

This Years Tree

No Norelco commercials again this Christmas season! Strangely enough I miss them. Have you noticed how fast time flies as you get up in years? We’re already into November, Thanksgiving in just two days! And yes, “Christmas - is - just around the corner.” Do you have this years tree? Stop by Home Depot and see me . . .

It seems like yesterday. Santa cruising down the snow-filled slopes on his triple-head Norelco electric shaver. Before your time? No problem they’re on YouTube - of course. Now Santa is trying to sell you a luxury sports car (A red Mercedes).
As a youngster I was convinced - just around the corner - meant Main Street; Marshall’s Hardware - Santa Land. My brothers and I would take a walk to town to see all the holiday decorations and toys we wanted Santa to bring. Day-and-Palin’s was the only Christmas tree lot that I can remember in Cuba, Illinois. Waiting for Christmas seemed like an eternity. The toys have morphed somehow, instead of a Daisy BB gun, or a G.I. Joe, now it’s a new smart phone, Apple TV,  jewelry, tools, clothes, iTunes gift cards, and home repair items. Today, just around the corner reminds us; in the blink of an eye the holidays will have come and gone.

Come to think of it, how would Charles Schulz have written A Charlie Brown Christmas today?

“I suggest we try those search lights, Charlie Brown,” would have led Charlie Brown and Linus to The Home Depot tree lot with its woven wire fence, trees wrapped in netting and the sweet smell of freshly cut trunks as trees are trimmed for customers. Oh, by the way, this year stop by the Home Depot tree lot at Sycamore and Melrose to say hello and pick up your tree, I’ll be there.

I haven’t seen a “Great big shiny aluminum Christmas tree” - in years. Have you?

It’s hard to believe A Charlie Brown Christmas first aired - December 1965, last nights show on CBS marked its 50th anniversary! Admittedly, it’s still one of my favorite holiday programs. I make it a point to watch it every year. Indeed, today, Linus would have launched the Home Depot app on his smartphone to check price and availability before leaving the auditorium. And, walk to the tree lot - are you kidding - he would have texted his mother to bring the SUV; even though the nearest home center is less than three blocks from most peoples house. 

Things have changed a lot over the years but the commercialism that Schultz and others portrayed still exists today more than ever. Now the statement, “Christmas is just around the corner.” is accompanied with “Have you finished your Christmas shopping?” – No, have you?

Yes, Christmas - is - just around the corner; if you still think it’s about shopping till you’re broke, think again. Please take a moment this holiday season and listen to Linus as he recites from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2 Verses 8 through 14 from the Authorized King James Version:

 "Lights please."

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.”

 . . . “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.”

 It is just around the corner, where you can pick up this years tree.

Merry Christmas!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular of All Time

The Gopher Problem and the High Powered Solution

Vacationing in Maine this week, just a short drive down the coast from Freeport, it is hard not to think about the outsized impact one frustrated outdoorsman had on the gear we all use today. Bad equipment can ruin a perfectly good day on the water or the trail, but it takes a special kind of vision to turn cold feet into a century-old empire. This is the story of the company we now know as L.L.Bean, but more importantly, it is a masterclass in integrity, learning from failure, and standing behind your work. In 1912, Leon Leonwood Bean faced a persistent problem: returning from expeditions in the Maine woods with cold, wet feet. Instead of complaining, he got creative. He had a local shoemaker stitch waterproof rubber soles onto the flexible leather uppers of a hunting boot. He called it the Maine Hunting Shoe and mailed a flyer promising perfect satisfaction. Then reality arrived. Ninety of his first 100 pairs failed when the rubber separated from the leather. Not an effective product...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholē , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...
4 comments
Read more

Stamps and Snow

In this episode, Stamps and Snow . . .   You don’t usually walk into the local Post Office expecting a time warp . . . but here we are. All we wanted were stamps for this year's Christmas cards— yes, the old-fashioned paper ones that require licking, sticking, and hoping the Postal Service is feeling ambitious this week. But holiday errands have a talent for slowing you down, almost like the universe whispering, “Relax. You’re not getting out of this line any faster anyway.” So we waited. And while we waited, we talked (Are you surprised?). Because the Post Office is one of the few places where people still look up from their phones long enough to talk . . . Maybe it's because they're holding packages. It’s the modern town square: part civic duty, part free entertainment, part sociology experiment. The discussion began with holiday specials streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, and other services during this time of year. One gentleman who has lived in Vista since 1958 told us,...
3 comments
Read more

A Dog, a Beer . . . and the Ghost of 1912

Whenever you step into an American cathedral of our National Pastime built before modern ergonomics, municipal zoning, or crowd-flow dynamics, an unspoken understanding forms, creating a welcoming, timeless atmosphere. You trade legroom, sensible corridors, and personal space for the privilege of communing with ghosts. Last week, Lori and I made our pilgrimage to Fenway Park to watch our Chicago Cubs take on the Boston Red Sox (a taut 0–2 contest that felt spiritually tied to their 1918 World Series meeting). Staying just across the Charles River at the Courtyard Marriott in Cambridge gave us one immeasurable tactical advantage: we walked. While the automotive gridlock around Kenmore Square took on the character of the Siege of Yorktown—horns echoing across the asphalt like musket fire—we simply strolled across the Boston University Bridge, enjoying the river breeze and feeling smugly superior to everyone trapped behind a steering wheel. Fenway, built in the spring of 1912, holds rough...
Post a Comment
Read more