For years, my neighborhood has gathered to celebrate the holidays on a Sunday in December. The outdoor event features the lighting of a Christmas tree and a menorah, and a visit from Santa. We’re doing it again this year, though with some notable differences. Rather than sitting on Santa’s lap, the kids will chat with him from their own chair six feet away.
The party is held at a house that sits on a corner lot with a big front yard. There’s a pine tree in that yard that used to serve as our Christmas tree, but it eventually grew so too tall that we would have needed a bucket lift to decorate it. For a few years we pointed one of those holiday light projectors at the tree to illuminate it, but that couldn’t compare with a tree strung with real lights. Last year we went looking for an artificial tree, but found that any tree tall enough would have been hugely expensive. . . .
Category: Miscellany
Every Company Wants a Piece of Me Every Month
A trend I first noticed maybe a decade ago has continued unabated. Companies of all kinds have been shifting their business models. Rather than paying just once to purchase a product, they want me to pay every month in perpetuity for the privilege of using it. Or rather than charging me when I need a service, they want me to pay monthly to be able to access that service when I need it. . . .
How Society’s Squeamishness Drives the Evolution of Our Vocabulary
I’ve noticed something about the way the English language evolves. When something has a discomforting connotation, we find euphemisms to describe that thing which elide the source of our discomfort. We refer to the act of having sex as “sleeping together.” Someone who has died has “passed away.” Someone who’s been fired was “let go.” That’s all fairly obvious; what I find interesting is that, over time, the euphemisms themselves pick up the taint of whatever uncomfortable thing they are describing and become distasteful in turn. . . .
A Birthday Card for 2020
A friend of mine has a birthday in December. This is the card I’m going to send him.
Reality TV’s Socialization of American Youth
Years ago I tuned in to one of those reality TV shows that feature teams of contestants and some kind of elimination competition. What struck me was that the conniving, cutthroat, contemptible (and contemptuous) behavior of the contestants was not how normal, sane people behave. Then I realized that the producers of these programs contrive the game so that contestant have to act that way to win. . . .
What’s the Real Cause of Those Long Lines at the MVC?
I was at the South Brunswick office of the NJ Motor Vehicles Commission this morning to register my mother’s new car. MVC offices were closed for several weeks at the height of the pandemic, which resulted in a backlog of demand. I’d read about how long the lines have been since the MVC reopened, but this was my first opportunity to stand in one of those lines. . . .
Our Remarkable Neighborhood
I live in one of the most neighborly neighborhoods I’ve ever known. It consists of 63 homes on two intersecting streets in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Jennifer and I moved here in 2014 because we liked the house; we didn’t know anything about the neighborhood. But whenever we were outdoors during our first few days here, someone would come by, introduce themselves and welcome us. They never failed to declare what a great neighborhood it was. Everyone was so nice that at one point I confessed to Jennifer that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop — I was afraid we might have moved to Stepford. . . .
Writing Back to Spammers
My brother-in-law Tom sent me a link to a delightful TED talk about one man’s response to an email scam. As Tom noted, it provides some much-needed quarantine amusement.
That Photo on the Home Page
The photo at the top of this blog’s home page, an uncropped version of which appears above, is a view of Lake George from the porch of my family’s summer home in Huletts Landing, New York. Lake George is known as “the queen of American lakes.” It’s one of the loveliest places I’ve ever been….