Underneath the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

I'm always interested in what's UNDER things. Perhaps it's my parents' fault. The "surprise" 4th child that came 12 years after what they thought was their last, they told me that I was found under a rock. They were just walking along one day, and Mama lifted up a rock, and there I was. Frankly, that makes more sense to me than what I learned in sex ed. In any case, I now spend a decent amount of time, lifting up rocks, or conversations, or what-have-you, trying to figure out what is underneath it all.

Like these Charlie Brown Christmas Trees that they sell everywhere. I grew up on the Peanuts' tv specials -- heck, I remember when they were accompanied with the Dolly Madison snack cake commercials -- but I'm a little befuddled as to why anyone would deliberately buy one of these decorations. Apparently, they do, since they're sold absolutely everywhere.

The people buying them, they do realize that the magic of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree was that they infused it with love, which made it magically transform into a full Christmas tree, covered in needles, ornaments, and tinsel ... right?

Well, maybe I am the one who has it all wrong. Quite possibly, in this time that is a bizarre combination of extreme affluence and, because of comparative value, extreme debt/sense of scarcity, what we can look at that makes us focus on importance, on real meaning, is a fake pathetic Christmas tree.

We're searching for symbolism. And those warm feelings we got, wrapped up in a blanket, polycotton stockings on the fireplace, watching a television cartoon that explained to us the real meaning of Christmas.

I don't mock. I get it.

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