Christmas close-up
A tree does not grow in Union Square, but one has been erected there and festooned with colored lights. This is a close-up of that tree. I’ve made a habit of visiting the Square to see the Christmas tree pretty much every year since I moved to the Bay Area. I’ve put up some trees of my own in my adulthood. But they cannot compare to the ones I remember from childhood back in New York. My mom trimmed those, and they were a gaudy spectacle when they were done. But they were warm, that’s for damned sure. As a boy, I’d spend some time in December curled around the base (where the fake polyester snow perfected the illusion of a real tree growing in the living room)… not just because that’s where the gifts were piled, but because there was a kind of bleary magic there, up close. Growing up usually means giving up most of that sort of magic. God knows I’ve fought it tooth and nail, lol. It’s funny. I find that if I press my nose up close to the monitor I can almost… Fill in your own special blank. It’s Christmas time. Fulfill a dream… your own or someone else’s, if you can. Merry Christmas!