In the last few days, I have been thinking it might be time to build the ark. It has been pouring constantly for a couple of days. Last night, the rain, coupled with the wind, sounded fearsome, threatening. The dogs stuck their noses out the door and turned right around to stay inside the house, no dumb animals there. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and saw the morning. It is sunny and 42°. The wind is slight. It is a lovely day.

My house is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I decorated yesterday but still have more to do. I will finish today and then get my tree this afternoon after my concert. After I wrestle it into the house, I’ll try to get at least the lights on it.

Oh no! Santa is no longer among the living. His round little belly is strewn about the yard. His bundle of toys is gone. Consequently, Nala has moved to the top of the naughty list, but I will shoulder some of the blame. I didn’t put old St. Nick up high enough.

I fear for my tree. I may have to have naked lower branches.

When I was a kid, our tree was in the corner of the living room where the TV usually was. The stand was one of those metal ones with the screws which held the trunk tightly in the stand. My father used to put up the tree. He’d have one of us, either my brother or me, hold the trunk while he’d be under the tree on his stomach tightening the screws. He’d keep checking to make sure the tree was secure then we could let go. Mostly the tree was held fast except for that one time.

I remember when the tree fell. It could have fallen left or right or backwards and been braced by walls. No, of course not. It fell slowly forward out of the stand to the rug. I saw it fall. Ornaments fell onto the floor, a few broke. My parents weren’t home so it was up to my brother and me to save the tree. We got it upright by pulling the trunk. We tried to reset the stand but couldn’t. The screws were too tight. The only thing we could do was hold the tree upright. We took turns.

When my parents got home, my father hurried to grab the tree. We explained what had happened. The stand was tilted to one side. My father did his best to get the tree secured in the stand then he had the solution. He attached a wire to the trunk on each side of the tree then strung the wires to the locks on the windows beside the tree. One of us held the tree while he saved it. That tree did not fall again.

This entry was posted on December 12, 2024 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.