Cheer

I was ducking into Andy’s Deli on the corner of 80th & Columbus on my way home from a beloved colleagues bon voyage party when I spotted it there, big as a whale.

An 18-wheeler loaded twenty deep with Christmas trees was straddling the east side of Columbus behind the Natural History Museum.

Where one might think I’d turn all Grinch and mutter, “Damned capitalism!” under my breath, but I couldn’t help but smile. The sheer volume of trees — imagine a rectangle of pine fifty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and ten feet deep (that’s 7500 cubic feet of cheer!) — was staggering. The amount of joy that one truck load of trees represented, well, it was tough not to feel it.

Three guys (elves!?!) were atop the great mass. Two were unloading. One was laying down, resting (one would imagine) from the long trip south.

And the smell? Oh, the bittersweet bite of evergreen. I love it. Kinda’ makes a guy reconsider his whole position on the whole holiday thing after all.