*Part Two of a
Three-Part Series*
The Après-Christmas
Party
One
year I made the big mistake of visiting a ski resort the day after Christmas. I
knew I was in for trouble when traffic came to a standstill three miles from
the parking lot. For a moment or two I considered heading back down the canyon
because there were so many people and the resort was sure to be crowded, but I
had planned a day of skiing and the obstinate German side of me was determined
to do exactly as I had planned. Forty-five minutes later I found a parking spot
and began my day on the slopes. After a half hour run of constantly dodging
teenage skiers and boarders, I realized that most of the crowd on the mountain
was completely inept at the art of navigating the snowy trails. The ski slopes
were crawling with kids who had obviously received their first snowboard or set
of skis one day ago. That’s when my German side kicked in again and I decided
to turn a bad situation into an optimistic opportunity. I accepted the
challenge presented that day after Christmas and gained some invaluable
experience learning to expertly dodge clumsy teenagers. I also learned to stay
away from the ski resorts on the 26th of December.
Discovering the Sky
When
I was nine I received a toy telescope for Christmas. It doubled as a microscope,
which I thought was cool. Sure, the tele- and microscopes weren’t exactly
professional instruments, but they blew my nine-year-old brain away. I never
really used the microscope part much, mainly because the toy only came with six
slides to view, but the telescope part was truly revelatory and amazing. I
could see the moon at ten times its normal size. Stars were so much clearer and
mysterious. Airplanes proved a worthy challenge, as I would try to view them as
they jetted through the air. I loved discovering a new world in the sky and
ever since then I have always felt a sense of wonder and excitement when I look
up at night and see the twinkling darkness, waiting to be explored.
Traveling at the
Speed of Obsolete
Technology
will forever delight and enrage. Delight because it makes life so much more fun
and interesting. Enrage because two months after I received a GPS navigational
unit for Christmas, I bought a phone that already had a navigational app
installed on it. And the phone was cheaper. When I got the GPS device, I
thought I had finally entered the upper echelons of gadgetry. My smartphone
quickly dispelled that notion. The only advantage the GPS unit still has over
the phone is that I can plug it into the cigarette lighter, thus saving the
battery on my phone, and it mounts nicely on my windshield. I still use it from
time to time to entertain myself on a long drive; I like to see how much
farther I have to travel to reach my destination and it’s sometimes fun to take
a different route than the lady tells me, which makes her recalculate everything.
Now I make sure to ask Santa for things that won’t be replaced within a couple
months, like world peace and food for everyone.
The Only Way to
Travel During Christmas
Everyone
knows that a train set around the Christmas tree is the only way to truly
celebrate this wonderful time of year. The
Polar Express has immortalized the train as a staple of Christmas nostalgia
and the Heber Valley Railroad even has a North Pole Express that captures the combined
magic of trains and Christmas. Ten years ago when I was living in the land of
trains (aka Germany), I fell in love with the sight of a train snaking its way
through a snow-filled countryside. I have never felt more comfortable and safe
than the nights when I was on a train and the wind and snow were beating at the
windows. My list of “100 Things to Do Before You Die” includes a wintry train
ride, preferably at night. If you do so, make sure to take some hot cocoa and
cookies with you for the ultimate Christmas experience!
Join
me next week for the culmination of the Twelve Years of Christmas. Until then,
keep it merry and bright!
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