By Guest Writer: Myra Fercy
The Christmas tree is gone from the corner now. Looks kinda bare, doesn’t it? The trimmings are all packed up and stowed away until next year. Now what is there left to do? Not much, so we sit back and think of previous holidays. I can vividly recall a few years ago, 2014, to be exact, I accidentally “found” a nice Christmas tree. I say “accidentally found” because I wasn’t looking for a tree. I was on my way from my apartment to the garbage dumpster in the basement garage to deposit my trash. As I walked out of the elevator in the garage level, I hurried around the corner and almost ran into a nice little Christmas tree!
It was mounted on a base with lights fastened in the branches and stood about five feet tall. What a find! Evidently someone was moving out and wanted to leave the tree behind, so rather than putting it into the dumpster, it was set aside for anyone who might want it.
I immediately thought of my friend, Linda, who was on hospice care, due to cancer. I stopped by Linda’s room and explained what I had found. There was some discussion if we could put it in Linda’s room. Finally, it was agreed that as long as Linda wanted it, hospice would approve it, and so the little Christmas tree was set up in the room where Linda could see it from her bed. (The hospital bed was now set up in the living room.) When other tenants found out that Linda was confined to bed, they brought in ornaments and helped add decorations to the tree. There was even some garland with a little angel at the top. We plugged it in and was surprised to see that all the lights worked! Oh, what joy!
After Linda passed away, her final Christmas tree still exists. It may have been an old used tree that was headed for the trash, but it brought some joy to a friend whose days were winding down. I’m so glad I found it. It gives new meaning to those old familiar words: Peace on Earth, and good will to men.
