i borrowed this picture from www.christmasstreet.com, a site that you HAVE TO VISIT to get an idea of what the magic is All About. while it's an excellent picture, it only shows two of the decorated houses. that's right folks, the entire block is festooned in similar fashion. yeah, festooned. oh boy. i run the risk of being accosted if any of my neighbors are reading this, mostly because, to live in hampden, you by in large have to have great pride in the little neighborhood. otherwise, nobody in her right mind would live here. i can say this because i'm not in my right mind. ever. the area is a mix of classes and lifestyles, with a bit of entrepreneurial gusto butting heads with gentrification butting heads with starving artists butting heads with true bawlmoreans who've lived here for decades. we've also got our requisite city "toughs" who like to think that, as 16-19 year olds, they can own the neighborhood. that said, we have plenty of sweet neighbors and good friends who look out for each other. we have great little boutiques (re= Minas) that you won't find anywhere else and a coffee shop that plays U2 a lot. SCORE!
to get back to "the miracle," i'll give you a topic: there are numerous positives and negatives to this type of display culture, one of the latter being an escapist culture in which we try to avoid the real problems that plague our post-modern culture. discuss.
but seriously. i walked a friend down to "the miracle" last night, and she couldn't get over the spectacle of it all. enchanting? yes. for about a split second. then some enterprising (read "exploitive") folks started to approach the crowds, trying to sell those useless little neon glow plastic necklaces. on the corner, dudes had a big grill going, and they were selling a variety of meats. and the first thing i thought? "hmmm, i wonder if they're following the health code..." somebody else was selling sweatshirts that had ripped off the natty bo logo (that's right; whoever you are, i'm ratting you out) by slapping a santa hat on it. excuse me for being a bit scrooge-y, but... wtf? i lived on the 800 block of 34th three years ago, and i don't remember all the hucksters being out there then. sure, the 700 block was as tackily aglow then as it is now, and traffic still jammed the entire street because people were too lazy to park and get out and walk to see the display, but, it was quirky. it was innocent and fun. it was hampden, over-the-top and in all its glory. i loved it. and now? i am truly disappointed in human greed edging in on a neighborhood tradition. shame on them.
BUT. i am not, have not ever been, and will never be the type to let other people ruin my christmas. my philosophy is that while we can't ignore other people, we can usually CHOOSE how they affect us, and i WON'T let another person scuttle my holidays. so, you may find this surprising, but i've been to "the miracle" three times already this december. i've taken toby down there everytime, and everytime, we just kind of lose ourselves in the crowds. for one, this helps his behavior because he can't be so skittish. but two, i like hearing people converse and seeing families interact. somehow, i think the magic isn't really in the display, but the display starts the magic in the people. they stream past the herds of reindeer that carry clone santas past the legions of babies Jesus. they hear the gregorian chants float over the replicated who village and its cardboard grinch. they laugh and ooh and ahh, and they're there with friends and family. on the one hand, we can by reflex be repulsed by the overly material display, or (and i think this is the more enlightened path) we can choose to see how the miracle coaxes people to be with others and to somehow let go of everyday ridiculousness and to comment on what's going on around christmas.
that is why hampden is so great.
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