And to All a Good Night

Last week I wasn't feeling the Christmas spirit. That feeling is warmer than a good mood, brighter than a hope. I felt okay, just not Christmasy. Plus it was raining.

Friends, local and cyber, made suggestions as to where to look for my Christmas spirit and I tried them all. I played Christmas music, read Christmas stories, gave to charity. I watched Christmas videos, listened to Christmas carolers, viewed Christmas lights in the rain. It was beginning to work. I was starting to feel warm and fuzzy.

Wednesday night, the storm broke. On the suggestion of Pasadena's Public Information Officer Ann Erdman, I drove to upper Hastings Ranch, a Pasadena neighborhood that (surprise!) was once a ranch owned by a family named Hastings. The neighbors there put on a Christmas light show every year. I drove up the hill, as far up as I could go, stopping every so often to take pictures. Then, not quite satisfied, I turned around to head home.

Then I saw the lights of the San Gabriel Valley under the post-storm sky. That was all I needed.

Merry Christmas to all!