O Tannenbummer

Yesterday I had occasion to go into the Big City on business and afterwards backtracked a little bit to take a look at this year’s “holiday” tree at Rock Center. It’s a tradition, of course, but it’s also a traditional shame. The tree they sacrifice every year is a symbol for the holiday (shopping) season but even before the lighting ceremony it is obvious the tree is dying, as they say, on the vine. The branches droop and they would be scraping the pavement if cables were not attached to bolster them up. In the light of day it’s kind of distressing to see a magnificent natural wonder reduced to sagging ugliness. The ceremony tonight will make it all so pretty with all the proper lighting and caroling and the ice skaters swooping around. Maybe in a couple of weeks I’ll get into the spirit of the season and can ignore the fate of this beautiful tree and the mulch it’s destined to become, way before its time.