Christmas lights are lining our avenue, some quite elaborate and some simple, but all with the same purpose, announcing the approach of Christmas and the celebration of Christ's birth.
Twenty-some years ago, we were living and working in Monroe. It seems the year was one of those following an energy crunch when outdoor Christmas lighting had been held to the minimum, but this was a year when everyone was excited about lighting up the place again. There was even a sense of competition about it. Not only were the citizens decorating bushes, trees, eves and windows, they were even crawling on top of their homes setting up displays. I hung our usual string of lights along the roof edge, but then decided I would like to try something more.
I kept looking at my ham radio tower, thinking that if I were to decorate it, it would even be higher than the housetops in the area. Too many lights would be needed to decorate the whole tower, but maybe a nice star near the top would do. I got out the old big bulb colored light strings. Most weren't in very good shape, with the insulation cracking on the wires. I found several long plastic rods for spreaders and built a wooden center to attach lights and rods. I tried stringing a five-point star ... no luck. I tried making a Star of David, six points ... better, but no way. That is when I remembered that never in my life, up to that time, at least, had I seen a five-point or a six-point star in the sky.
They were all twinkling lights, some bright, some not so bright. My stick star was born. I attached the rods in a circular shape, eight rods as I recall, with lights strung out along each rod. I used lots of electrical tape to attach everything, and to cover bare wires. My star was slightly more than eight feet in diameter.
I had decided that since it was Christmas season, most folks that had ever heard anything of the Christmas Story would recognize a light in the sky as being a star. Up that tower I went, dragging the star along. I finally was able to secure it and keep it somewhat in a position facing the neighborhood, front and back. A few more trips took care of the power cord, which had to be supported, too. Everything was set for my test run come night. I was pleased to be finished after a week of planning and work.
Darkness finally fell and I switched on the electric timer. The star shone brightly about 35 feet up in the sky. "Not bad," I thought, "Really quite nice!" I am a "Nickel Squeezer" and had decided five or six hours of lighted star was enough, as most people would be going to bed before it was off. Then the thought struck me, "Real stars never turn off," so I selected after daylight as the "off" time.
A week or more passed, and no one had mentioned a star in the eastern part of Monroe. I wondered if people didn't look up anymore. Then one morning at work, Gladys, who ran the lab, said, "John, I saw your star last night and this morning. When does it turn off?" I told her at daylight. I was pleased. I began to hear more and more from those who were seeing the star. One person told me they were coming home from out-of-town and saw the star two or three miles from the east as they drove the highway. I was very pleased that my Christmas Star was being seen and maybe even reminding people of the real Christmas story.
Spring came and the star came down. The best star report was yet to come.
An elderly couple lived down the street a couple blocks. They were pleasant folks. We didn't really know them, but would greet them as they walked past our house. We always received a big smile and their greeting in return. Then a time came in the prior summer when we didn't see them walking. We heard the old gentleman was seriously ill and dying. I was working in the front yard that spring, when I saw the lady coming down the street walking alone. Her husband had died not long after Christmas.
She came near and said to me, "Mr. Lehmann," she had learned our name, "I have been wanting to tell you how much we enjoyed your Christmas Star this past winter. We could see it from our bedroom. We would look for it at bedtime. We would look for it in the morning. And you don't know how many times we looked at it in the middle of the night when my husband couldn't sleep. We received so much joy and comfort from it. I just want to say thank you from my husband and myself." I was nearly overcome but managed to murmur, "You are most welcome!"
God does work in mysterious ways. Something that came to me as a challenge turned into a blessing, not only for our elderly neighbors but for us, too!
Merry Christmas!
Twenty-some years ago, we were living and working in Monroe. It seems the year was one of those following an energy crunch when outdoor Christmas lighting had been held to the minimum, but this was a year when everyone was excited about lighting up the place again. There was even a sense of competition about it. Not only were the citizens decorating bushes, trees, eves and windows, they were even crawling on top of their homes setting up displays. I hung our usual string of lights along the roof edge, but then decided I would like to try something more.
I kept looking at my ham radio tower, thinking that if I were to decorate it, it would even be higher than the housetops in the area. Too many lights would be needed to decorate the whole tower, but maybe a nice star near the top would do. I got out the old big bulb colored light strings. Most weren't in very good shape, with the insulation cracking on the wires. I found several long plastic rods for spreaders and built a wooden center to attach lights and rods. I tried stringing a five-point star ... no luck. I tried making a Star of David, six points ... better, but no way. That is when I remembered that never in my life, up to that time, at least, had I seen a five-point or a six-point star in the sky.
They were all twinkling lights, some bright, some not so bright. My stick star was born. I attached the rods in a circular shape, eight rods as I recall, with lights strung out along each rod. I used lots of electrical tape to attach everything, and to cover bare wires. My star was slightly more than eight feet in diameter.
I had decided that since it was Christmas season, most folks that had ever heard anything of the Christmas Story would recognize a light in the sky as being a star. Up that tower I went, dragging the star along. I finally was able to secure it and keep it somewhat in a position facing the neighborhood, front and back. A few more trips took care of the power cord, which had to be supported, too. Everything was set for my test run come night. I was pleased to be finished after a week of planning and work.
Darkness finally fell and I switched on the electric timer. The star shone brightly about 35 feet up in the sky. "Not bad," I thought, "Really quite nice!" I am a "Nickel Squeezer" and had decided five or six hours of lighted star was enough, as most people would be going to bed before it was off. Then the thought struck me, "Real stars never turn off," so I selected after daylight as the "off" time.
A week or more passed, and no one had mentioned a star in the eastern part of Monroe. I wondered if people didn't look up anymore. Then one morning at work, Gladys, who ran the lab, said, "John, I saw your star last night and this morning. When does it turn off?" I told her at daylight. I was pleased. I began to hear more and more from those who were seeing the star. One person told me they were coming home from out-of-town and saw the star two or three miles from the east as they drove the highway. I was very pleased that my Christmas Star was being seen and maybe even reminding people of the real Christmas story.
Spring came and the star came down. The best star report was yet to come.
An elderly couple lived down the street a couple blocks. They were pleasant folks. We didn't really know them, but would greet them as they walked past our house. We always received a big smile and their greeting in return. Then a time came in the prior summer when we didn't see them walking. We heard the old gentleman was seriously ill and dying. I was working in the front yard that spring, when I saw the lady coming down the street walking alone. Her husband had died not long after Christmas.
She came near and said to me, "Mr. Lehmann," she had learned our name, "I have been wanting to tell you how much we enjoyed your Christmas Star this past winter. We could see it from our bedroom. We would look for it at bedtime. We would look for it in the morning. And you don't know how many times we looked at it in the middle of the night when my husband couldn't sleep. We received so much joy and comfort from it. I just want to say thank you from my husband and myself." I was nearly overcome but managed to murmur, "You are most welcome!"
God does work in mysterious ways. Something that came to me as a challenge turned into a blessing, not only for our elderly neighbors but for us, too!
Merry Christmas!