Out In the Cold

I saw my first one on the 26th, on the way to the movies: the discarded christmas tree, tossed onto the windy pavement to await its fate, after faithfully serving up good cheer for the holiday. This is all the thanks it gets? Can't the cold-hearted tree tosser wait for the citywide recycling days, or lop off the branches for mulching, or simply keep their tree up and decorated for a while longer? I am a big fan of keeping the tree up as long as possible. It takes a lot of effort to get it up and dressed, and more effort again to take the ornaments and lights down, carefully pack them away, and then re-use or recycle the tree itself. So I enjoy my tree and put off the chore as long as possible. It's only January 2, people! Don't turn your backs on your trees, like some Dickensian villan! And please, when you do take yours gently out of the house, don't put it into a stupid plastic bag as if it's an old ham sandwich. If you want to protect rugs or floors as you take the tree out, grab a bedsheet and lay it down on that to carry it away. You can wash any sap out, and you've saved a glob of petrochemical product into the bargain. But I, for one, plan to keep my tree up, and to sit by it nightly, as I am doing now, for as long as the needles hold on. Can't help lovin' this tree of mine.