Walking the dog at night, neighbors decorating the outside of their homes, a friendly spark of conversation, a relief from isolation and darkness. Makes me think of my dad decorating the evergreen that grew up against our home in the Bronx. He didn't need a ladder to reach the top but somehow managed to reach the top limbs from the porch roof. Though the memory of that tree looked so big to me I can't imagine how he reached the tippy top. We lived on the uphill side of the street, though that term in CA means something quite different than the slight slope that we thought was so daring and dangerous. I looked up to the tree from the sidewalk and could see the top rungs from inside the second story bedroom.
The Only Picture of that Tree I could Find!
And it's a young tree in 1961!
I was short back then, too.
Alice, Joey(m) & Betsy(r)
And such are the decorators pulling off daring feats on almost every block Summer and I roam in this dinner darkness, hanging from rooflines and railings outlining our n'hood. Watching the activity of putting up the lights is satisfying, fostering community. Coming around the next day and seeing the results is calming, night to day. One home on Rawson has an evergreen lit up and ornamented on the front lawn and it's very self is shining inside their living room window, a two for one. Figurines are giving Summer the jumps. From across the street the deer and snow people look like something to chase, so I let her get up close to examine.
My lights are all on the inside, some lining the front window. Leaving the blinds open a bit also allow the lights between the living room and dining room to shine through. The holiday lights from last year never got taken down from the kitchen because even with daylight that lasts till 9 pm they perk up a late night snack.
Looking forward to the holiday lights 'stroll' with neighbors and friends the Wednesday before Christmas.
No comments:
Post a Comment