(Photo from Tomie’s “Mercer Room,” Christmas, 2016) There we were, a neighbor and I, on a humid Sunday morning, a few days before the 4th of July, in the grocery store, by the bread, talking through our masks about Christmas lights. The neighbor was commenting about ugly Christmas light displays which reminded me of Tomie’s declaration many, many years ago that all decorations at Christmas were beautiful, magical, and wonderful. His pronouncement was tested. There was the Christmas tooth on the side of a house near here. As thousands would travel north to see the lights at La Salette in Enfield, NH, we would travel south to see the Christmas tooth. We imagined the goal was a light display in the shape of a bell, but the result looked more like a tooth to us. Then there was the house in town divided in the middle into two living quarters. White candle lights on one side and blue on the other. The last straw might have been the inflatables - inflated during the evening, but sadly lying flat on the ground during the day. Friends in Concord, MA, took us by the house of one of their neighbors. An inflated Santa on the porch. It seemed so out of place on the porch of famous historian DKG (enough information to google). I reminded Tomie of his remark every Christmas. As the years went on, he wavered. (Bob) Pray for Peace, Justice, and Equality
