And then there were lights.

While I was driving to work tonight, I did my best to appreciate the holiday lights that are being put up. Is it me or are Christmas lights and decorations getting more tacky? I like that fact that people make the effort to put them up, but must everyone buy into the latest light/decorative trend? I miss the old days where people actually had to be creative.

When I lived in L.A., the three or four streets across from the school where we lived had a competition every year to see which block had the best decorations. Every house on every block was lit up. It was beautiful. People used to come from all over town to see the displays. Cars would be lined up down our street, which wasn't even a participant, as the holiday approached. They would all turn off their headlights and drive down the streets with parking lights only. That was back in the eighties when we still had control over our own headlights. These people went all out for this deal and the stuff they came up with was quite clever. Across the school yard from us was a huge house that had Santa riding a Captain America motorcycle in the yard which was pulling a sleigh full of reindeer. On guy had a 30ft tall Santa he would erect every year. Even the Jewish people in these neighborhoods participated. One family had a red nosed reindeer with a Menorah for antlers. I never understood why Jewish people don't get more into the light displays. After all, Hanukkah is the festival of lights is it not? So why not celebrate with the crazy Christians and throw up some color?

At any rate. As I was driving to work it seemed that all the creativity has disappeared. Now everything comes prepackaged for easy installation and storage. The latest thing that bugs me is the inflatable stuff. It was cool when it first came out, but ever since then, it gets more trite.

Funny how I'm so judgmental yet I haven't put up a single light yet.