It’s coming on
Christmas, they’re cutting down trees…Joni Mitchell
Don’t
you wish every morning could be like Christmas morning?
T’is
the season…waking up in the cozy warmth of a comfy bed, the birds singing in
the bare branches outside the urban cabin window, the weather brisk and frosty…the
beginning of the season of the evergreens, the Long Snow Moon still hovering in
the cold, cloud-bare sky.
Nothing
like jumping out of bed on Christmas morning.
I
know many people use this morning to linger around the house, clad in pajamas
and wool socks, big mugs of hot coffee in their hands, lounging on the couches,
but like most procrastinators, I had a busy morning ahead of me.
I
couldn’t put it off any longer so I headed down to Center City, to Love Park’s
annual Christmas Village, for a little last minute holiday shopping.
Oh
no.
What
happened?
The
place was deserted, all locked up, not a single soul in sight…
…not
even the faintest sound of cheer or music.
Where
was I going to get all my trinkets and knick-knacks?
Where
was I supposed to buy my giant chocolate Santa?
How
was I supposed to decorate the interior landscape of my urban cabin if all the
shops are closed?
Where
did Christmas go?
Mom,
this time it’s not my fault.
Perhaps
I could salvage some part of the holiday.
Around the corner, on the west side of the park, there were still
Christmas trees lined up along the walkway…
…ye
olde favorites like the noble fir and the Alberta spruce but nobody was
scheduled this morning to sell me a tree.
I
guess they overslept, just my luck.
On
the ground at the end of the row, I saw evidence of the feeding frenzy that I
must’ve missed…
…scatterings
of fir branches frosted to the mud.
Unlike
the spruce, the fir grows its green needles in a flat spray along the branches,
much like a comb, bluish-white stripes on the underside…
…sold
here, four dollars a bundle, if anyone was here, that is, to take my money and
save my holiday.
Oh
well. The season is long, the winter has
just begun and it’s like Thoreau once said: there’s
always next year.
He
must’ve said that once in his life.
THE SEASON OF
THE EVERGREENS
Around
this time every year, I am reminded that I missed my true calling in life.
It’s
my one big regret.
If
I could do it all over again, I would’ve pursued a different, more lucrative
career.
I’d
be an agent.
My
dream client? That’s easy.
That’d
be the evergreens.
