If, like me, you are subscribed to the {fray} mailing list, you’ll have received an email today pointing to a re-run of an old seasonal story - the tree:
"I couldn’t wait to see them all brown and dry on the sidewalk. I was that way about Christmas."
It’s a good story. It had been a while since I had spent much time at the site so I set aside some time to read through the stories people had posted as a response. I was kind of wondering if {fray} was really as good as I remembered it being.
Reading those stories reaffirmed what I’ve thought ever since I first started surfing the web - {fray} is quite simply the best website ever. I certainly can’t think of any website that can elicit such strong emotional reactions from me.
I think it was this one that really did it for me:
"My mother walked across the parking lot with my mittened hand clenched tightly in hers, using her other hand to push the store door open.
Christmas music played over the store’s sound system. A not-too-great rendition of Jingle Bells.
I walked through the store with my mother in search of those little adhesive bows.. We found a bag of multi colored ones, and bought them.
As we were leaving, I heard Jingle Bells end, and some other song I didn’t know begin.
I still don’t know what that other song was- but it was the last Christmas song I ever heard playing. I lost my hearing the following Easter.
In a way, I guess that’s good- cuz I never got to the point where I hated Christmas music."