The Tumbleweed Tree

Hello America. You out there with your pines and firs and evergreens. Lucky, lucky you. You know, not all of America lives in close proximity to a pine forest. We live in a Desert. Where pine trees don't live. And at this festive time of year, we listen to the songs on the radio about Christmas Trees and snowflakes and the chill in the air, and we have to IMAGINE. It takes alot of CREATIVITY. But you know what, that's what this country was built on, right? Especially here. Here in Arizona, we have to be VERY CREATIVE at Christmastime.

Take this tradition, for example. Every year, thousands of people line the streets to see a lights parade and meet Santa and go to the craft booths, and THEN, at the end of the night, when the anticipation is so thick you could cut it, they light the City Tree. Oh - we know we don't have any trees besides cactus and mesquite. This is where the CREATIVE part comes in. I can just imagine 50 years ago a roomful of suits trying to figure out how to celebrate Christmas in the desert with no tree to light. Here's what they came up with:

Do you know what that is? Guess. No, you're totally wrong. Guess again. Closer, but still way off.

It's TUMBLEWEEDS. You know, like from the Roadrunner cartoons. All Piled Up in the Shape of a Cone! Well, in the shape of a Christmas tree. Then it's wrapped up in some lights (to hold it together, I'm guessing). And then they turn the lights on. It looks like this:

I was fully expecting it to burst into flames. Now, that would be something to see. But we waited around all night for the big climactic event and I was thinking there'd be a countdown, like when the drop the ball for New Year's, but no, it was thousands of people pretending to be cold, and then, whoohoo! Lights. On a TUMBLEWEED TREE.

Now we can say we've seen it all - Let's hear it for Creative Problem Solving in the Desert!