Have you read that story about the Christmas tree that was adorned with decorations and looked on with adoration? The conifer that finally felt appreciated and loved? Then the holiday ends and he is stripped down and thrown on a garbage heap, abandoned and hurt? I read it as a kid, and I still get choked up when I think about it. I remember feeling better about Easter, where the eggs may get their insides blown out, but at least they remain painted and pretty for all eternity. And a flag from the Fourth of July gets ceremoniously folded and put into a cozy hibernation for a year before it is trotted out again, then unfurled high atop a pole. Firecrackers at least get to go out in... More >>>