OPINION | Barry Richard: OK, What’s Missing? The Snowflakes!
Some people just have a hard time letting go of Christmas. But the season has finally come to an end in New Bedford's North End.
City work crews were very busy in the wee hours of this morning, removing the last of the Christmas decorations and stashing them neatly away until next time. I've left my personal decorations up until darn close to February in the past, but March 1 is pushing things just a bit, don't you think?
I good-naturedly mentioned to Mayor Jon Mitchell Wednesday afternoon that the giant illuminated snowflakes that adorn the light poles on Acushnet Avenue during the Christmas season were still there and still lit at night. His reply:
"I took note of that myself." "I figured, here's the deal, if I took the snowflakes down, it would jinx us. We would have a massive blizzard. That's my excuse, that's my story, and I'm sticking with it."
"We're not in the clear yet. We've had snowstorms in late March before, and I don't want to be the cause of it by taking those snowflakes down."
"The longer we stay in the Christmas spirit, the better off we'll all be. Christmas is a great time of year. Why not have more of it?"
I suppose we can cut these folks some slack. After all, who doesn't want to savor the Christmas spirit for as long as possible? It's prettier than campaign signs, no?
Editor's Note: Barry Richard is the afternoon host on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon - 3 p.m.. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
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Watch Mayor Mitchell with Barry discussing the snowflakes, as well as a number of other topics from this week's "Mid-Week with Mayor Mitchell" on WBSM and WBSM TV:
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