I would like to salute the genius of those who decorate their houses, for Christmas and the enjoyment of passers-by. Some of it is real genius, much of it is sheer quantity, and the rest is overwhelming bad taste.
I've seen houses that are pretty because all of the lights make a pleasing combination. I've seen houses that are pretty because their owner managed to create a lovely scene with tasteful lighted elements, but those are quite rare. I've seen houses that are just a pile of decorations. And I have seen utter monstrosities.
I can't stand inflatable decorations. Snowmen, snowglobes, polar bears, helicopters, Santas, they are hideous. One of the houses I saw this evening sported a lawn peppered with decorations of the kind, each more disgusting than the last. A barrage of three snowmen barricaded the entrance, holding the inhabitants hostage and forbidding visitors from entering. Under a large lantern, a ghoulish bear adorned with a scarf rocked back and forth in the wind.
It was truly a vision of terror.
Fortunately, not all decorators are as inept. I had the immense pleasure and the intense delight of witnessing a marvel of engineering. One family had set up a light-and-sound show. A home-based radio station with a radius of no more than 50 feet broadcast Christmas music perfectly timed and synchronized with the lighting and fading of different sections of the house. The trees boomed with the bass, the driveway with the bells, and the wreath on the door with the chimes. Scales and arpeggios traveled from the bushes to the roof in a blinding symphony of color and sound. I can only think of the hours of programming, tinkering, timing, and adjusting it took to produce this wonder.
I'm walking in a winter wonderland.
I've seen houses that are pretty because all of the lights make a pleasing combination. I've seen houses that are pretty because their owner managed to create a lovely scene with tasteful lighted elements, but those are quite rare. I've seen houses that are just a pile of decorations. And I have seen utter monstrosities.
I can't stand inflatable decorations. Snowmen, snowglobes, polar bears, helicopters, Santas, they are hideous. One of the houses I saw this evening sported a lawn peppered with decorations of the kind, each more disgusting than the last. A barrage of three snowmen barricaded the entrance, holding the inhabitants hostage and forbidding visitors from entering. Under a large lantern, a ghoulish bear adorned with a scarf rocked back and forth in the wind.
It was truly a vision of terror.
Fortunately, not all decorators are as inept. I had the immense pleasure and the intense delight of witnessing a marvel of engineering. One family had set up a light-and-sound show. A home-based radio station with a radius of no more than 50 feet broadcast Christmas music perfectly timed and synchronized with the lighting and fading of different sections of the house. The trees boomed with the bass, the driveway with the bells, and the wreath on the door with the chimes. Scales and arpeggios traveled from the bushes to the roof in a blinding symphony of color and sound. I can only think of the hours of programming, tinkering, timing, and adjusting it took to produce this wonder.
I'm walking in a winter wonderland.
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