Christmas (Atmosphere) @ Old Hyde Park

My office is located within the Old Hyde Park, which comprises rows of departmental stores radiating around a central square marked by a fountain and a space where a makeshift stage can be erected for any kind of live performance. Tucked behind the main road (South Dakota St) that cuts through the place are more shops that are being renovated.

On weekends the square is turned into a farmer’s market or Arts show while on some week nights, free concerts. An added attraction at this time of the year is the Christmas tree that is lighted at night with gift boxes stacked around it. Of course there is also a sled.

Just after sunrise this morning (officially listed as 7.14 am over the TV Weather News but I wonder how that’s determined, the first ray striking some predetermined mark on a scale or dial or based on some obscure astronomical calculation?), we again indulged in what has now become a routine: photo shoot session, trying to catch the Christmas spirit that permeates the air. At this early hour in the morning, the Christmas trees still wore the incandescent glow. However, I decided not to use the flash but instead opted for the dusk/dawn mode setting (oops, caught using the infamous double noun-adjectives), hence the purplish tinge. It’s obvious I’m just an amateur photographer who revels in seizing the moment rather than caring for the Kodak moment.

Most of the shops have yet to open for business, but we did find the usual morning exercise buffs, and an occasional cleaner going about her business. While exploring the shops behind the main road (our D has told us after one of her forays here earlier that the back shop area seemed deserted), I came across this series of animal paintings (I vaguely remember the shop has been vacated by the Humane Society of Animals). While broad brushed with simple paint strokes, the animals looked cute in various poses.

I remember watching the movie, Fiddler on the Roof, with Topol in the lead. It was such a nice musical and Tradition, Tradition … (there is supposed to be a tune somewhere.) Anyway, this is no Fiddler, but instead is Santa Claus on the roof with Rudolf and several of his brethren seemingly about to set off on a gift delivery galore. I am sure it would have looked better with the lights on, and at night. Now it’s just a faint outline against the grayish backdrop typical of the twilight zone.

My wife thought this was the American graffiti or something of that genre. But she could be excused because of the poor light and she was way across the street when she noticed the writing on the wall, literally. Actually it’s a mural drawing portraying city kids (evidenced from the skyscrapers in the background) in high spirit, celebrating life I suppose. This kind of street art (as distinct from Arts shows) is rare in Tampa, or at least this part of the town, unlike inner cities elsewhere which can be a couple of storey high as seen on movies.

I’m not sure whether this is an aberration, a stroke of genius, or just some mechanical snafu, but it’s actually a three-in-one shot. The real thing, or the thing I was looking at, is the nightly Lightning Round on the Fox 13 night show as part of its newscast. One of the guests was Robert Weiner, the Plant coach who featured prominently in the no-loss season for Panthers football this year and was named the high school coach of the year. You can see that at one instant he was sitting at one of the corners of a 4-corner seating arrangement and then his front shot all by himself was superposed, with another small reflection of the TV screen right in the middle.

However, those are just of peripheral interest, for now. What I wanted to highlight that bears on the Christmas season is the headline at the bottom of the screen: Christmas Trees Yanked. Apparently, a rabbi has requested for a menorah, a branched candlestick used during the Hanukkah festival, to be displayed at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport together with the Christmas displays. So the Airport management decided to remove the Christmas trees instead as they do not have time to put up the menorah nor other religious displays due to the busy season and yet do not wish to appear as being partial to the Christmas Festival. But all ended well as the rabbi would not complain further because it was not his intention to have the Christmas displays taken down. At the same time, the Airport management also promised to look into the matter next year in a holistic manner. This is how potential disputes borne out of misunderstanding is settled, amicably, with give-and-take, through open discussion, and by coming to the table.

Here I would like to close with a saying I’ve read somewhere:

“A mind is like a parachute. It works best when it’s open.” How sagacious.