Have a Holly, Jolly ... What The Hell Is That? ~ Blog 40

I was coming back from grocery shopping when
I spotted Santa and his seven reindeer atop a giant
pile of road salt next to the Mystic River. Tis the season?

You hear a lot of things about New England. It's not religious. The people are rude. People are too busy. What you don't hear is how evidently and obviously they love Christmas here.

Oh, people love it everywhere, to be sure. This isn't a Boston-is-better-than-you blog (We are, after all, the 10th-most expensive state in the nation and the home to Mitt Romney. Seriously, that's all I've got.). Maybe I was naive to think Christmas wouldn't be a big deal here. Whatever the case, I was certainly wrong.

You see it everywhere. People drive around with reindeer antlers hanging out their windows like people in Florida drive around with Florida Gators flags. I saw one car owner go the extra step and put a red reindeer nose on the front of his car.

And then there's this guy.

This cannot be legal. I mean texting and driving, of course.

Driving home from work last night on Interstate 93, I passed the most-well-lit vehicle I have ever seen. The back bed of the pickup truck was filled with lit candy canes. The rear gate had a lit version of Santa and his reindeer. On the driver's side window, there was a sign to check out the truck's Facebook page.

Seriously. Santa Truck has a Facebook page. The most recent comments are, "Hey, I just passed you on Interstate 93."

This is what our living room looks like.

Dubious legality aside, the spirit is laudable. You can feel it when you go downtown, as we will tonight. Molly Lu Who and Nacho Man are coming to Boston tonight to spend the night and Christmas morning with The Wife, Daisy Duke and myself.

What are we doing? Making nachos, of course. I have seven different kinds of cheese (most, admittedly, not for the nachos) in our refrigerator and three kinds of chips. Nacho Man is bringing meats and cheeses of his own. There are myriad alcoholic beverages in the fridge and Smart Water for the morning after.

TW has to work until about 5, but that's OK. Nacho Man, Molly Lu and I will take the Blue Line down to Quincy Market. There will likely be carolers. There will be a holiday lights show called Blink. We might even bring Daisy Duke (pets aren't allowed on the subway, but you see it all the time).

This is Christmas in the big city. I kind of like it. I'm still not wild about buying or receiving presents, but it's about more than that. I could get into the religious notes and get really into the weeds. There is an argument among some Christians that Easter is the more important holiday, but let's not get into it.

At the least, people are having fun, and fun is a good thing. Here's hoping you're having fun at some point today, tonight or tomorrow. God bless you for putting up with me and/or my blog and merry Christmas.