Haul out the holly, get jolly in 2020

I do love Christmas but a few days into October when I saw the dairy display of egg nog at the grocery store I thought, seriously? I like a cup o’nog in December and maybe at Thanksgiving but not a month before Halloween.

My friend Taryn Thompson bought an artificial Christmas tree on Sept. 19, three days before summer ended on the calendar. She wasted no time in setting the tree up in her living room. I thought she was crazy, or at least eccentric. Starting with a 2020 dumpster fire ornament, she and her daughter, Faith, are adding an ornament a day. Their tree should be fully decorated before Dec. 1.

Fast forward to this past Saturday. Bert and I were tile shopping at Lowe’s and where there had been patio furniture displayed when I was last in the store months ago, now there's a forest of brightly lit Christmas trees of all sizes. It was magical to behold. I wandered through the “forest” and realized I felt happy and light, which has not been the case for most of the past several months.

I said to myself that maybe we all need a little Christmas right now. I also mentally apologized to Taryn for thinking she was crazy. So what if there’s Halloween and Thanksgiving before we get to the homestretch of the year that has taken such a toll on everyone everywhere.

When we got home I Googled “We Need a Little Christmas” and refreshed my memory of the song. It was first performed by Angela Lansbury in the 1966 Broadway production of Mame. As Mame she had lost her fortune in the Wall Street crash of 1929. Much like Taryn, sans household servants, Mame decides that the family needed a little Christmas now to cheer them up.

“For we need a little music, need a little laughter, need a little singing ringing through the rafter, and we need a little snappy 'Happy ever after', need a little Christmas now!”

Give yourself an early Christmas gift and listen to the Johnny Mathis version of the iconic song while drinking a cup of egg nog and decorating the tree. It’s 2020 after all. I’m thinking it’s none too soon to begin planning for New Year’s Eve celebrations; we’re counting on you 2021!

Earlier this month, Sherry Mundt, a long-time volunteer, made this Adopt a Highway observation: “discarded masks now outnumber cigarette butts and styrofoam peanuts. Folks are wearing them for their health, but trashing our planet with them, and ironically a healthy planet is good for their health.”

In seven hours over two days with Mica Grange members, Sherry said 14 bags of trash were picked up along both sides of a two-mile stretch of U.S. 95 in Mica Flats. It should go without saying that disposable face masks should be disposed of properly.

Thanks to all of the Adopt a Highway volunteers for your efforts!

Happy birthday today to Randy Bohach, Leslie Lien, Jeff Elder (60!), Dave Chambers, Karen Hammond, Linda Polley, Gary Ghramm and Suzanne Metzger. Cheers tomorrow to Braxton Kurtz, Don Sausser, Dee Jameson, Shawn Gust, Beth Peters, Katie Smith, Wayne Hammond, Elizabeth McGregor, Laurie Dixon, Beth Myles, Greg Cossette, Dave Smith, Peyton Brown and Patty Cheesman.

On Friday Jordan Hudson, Misti Flood, Kathie Lyon, Pam Nygaard, Brad Perry and Mike Farquhar (70!) blow out the candles. Saturday Faith Tonna, Laurie Cook, Dana Albanese, Rosemary Fuller and Karen Deering will celebrate.

Sunday birthdays belong to Arlene Pischner, Keith Erickson, Terry Gurno, Will Wolff, Kevin Clement, Kathy Reid and Lauri Armon (60!). On Monday Dan Gookin, Tom Hamilton, Bobbi Koep, Louise Jackson, Linda Chapman and Holly Hall start another trip around the sun. Oct. 20 is the date Mary Lou Reed (90!), Luke Malek, Mary Willeford, Jodie Krieg, Nick Peacock, Brooke Litalien and Jerry Lee came into the world.

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.