And Santa said, "Let there be light." And there was light. And it was good.

Truth be told, I wasn't really looking forward to the Township tree-lighting ceremony tonight. However, I promised to attend, to represent the library, so that was that. My Library Director agreed to meet me there, too, so there was really no backing out of it.

Now I'm glad I went. It was really a nice evening. It wasn't too cold at all. There were a number of kids waiting to see Santa, running around in the wet grass, gathering whatever pathetic snow was left to make a tiny slushman. When Santa arrived (chauffeured in a fire truck, sirens ablaze), the kids went wild with excitement. The tiniest ones were fairly shaking with joy. Only Scrooge (pre-ghost, of course) could have failed to be touched by the Christmas Spirit.

Some speeches by local politicians (including a rather touching one about how all of them need to pay attention to how they behave, even at election time, because children are always watching and they need to set a good example, not just as politicians, but as people), and Santa turned on the lights.

My Library Director introduced me to the Mayor of the town we serve and I chatted with some kids and sipped some cocoa. I was proud of our library tree, proud of our larger community, proud of our township for trying to create a true community, not just a collection of cities and towns and villages.

In the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us, every one!"