by T.C Leonard

Created on: December 09, 2007

Personally, I have an artificial tree because of the mess and the possible fire hazard as the needles dry out and die on a live tree. I'm not a fan of the five-hundred trees stuffed in the corner of a department store parking lot, either. However, there is much to be said to the live Christmas tree experience if done correctly. The whole family gets involved, and an entire afternoon can be whiled away looking for the perfect tree; it builds the Christmas anticipation that much more. Of course, I'm speaking of taking everybody out to the local tree farm. It seems as if a large percentage of the few remaining farmers around here have parceled off the back forty and planted it in pines instead of corn. I have to go back a few years for this, but such a story is one of my better Christmas memories.

My wife, step-daughter, and I drove out to one such farm, and we interrupted the farmer's lunch. He walked out, literally with egg on his face, dusted himself off, and handed me a hacksaw. Then he pointed us in the right direction. As we walked off toward the trees, his dog trotted up to us and greeted everybody. Little did I know at the time that my step-daughter would utterly forget about the tree and spend the next hour-and-a-half chasing the dog up and down the rows of pine trees.

As city residents it was good to breathe the clean air of the countryside, and we strolled along happily, neither of us remembering that there were bills in the mailbox or that we had to go to work the next day. Even though Christmas was two weeks away, the holiday season was in the frosty air. There were many acres of trees, and we had to see every one; we literally became the Siskel and Ebert of small pines, heaping this one with praise and criticizing that one for being scrawny and a year away from being a worthy Christmas tree. It literally took an hour to find the right one.

Granted, there was a degree of sadness in felling the perfect 6' tall pine tree, but we all seemed to know that the memories would live on in the tree's place. As I dragged the tree back to the farmer's door and paid him, the dog took hold of my pants leg and seemed to say, "Come on! Don't you need another one? Let's do that again!" Actually, the idea of another tree on the other side of the room crossed my mind for a brief second, but my self-control prevailed and we headed home. That was my one-and-only experience with cutting down a Christmas tree, and it was a very good one. There was a bonding with the holiday season that I have never felt again; it was one that everybody should feel at least once.

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