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Monday: 'Tis the Season
posted at 2007-11-27 00:32 | Last modified 2007-11-27 08:20
Tarheel Christmas Tree
For the second time in three years, a North Carolina Christmas tree is being decorated tonight in the Blue Room of the White House. The grower, Joe Freeman of Ashe County, went up to DC today to present his tree to First Lady Laura Bush.
It’s a Fraser fir, about 20 feet tall and 13 feet wide, perfect all the way around (according to Freeman, anyway, who ought to know). Can’t wait to see it on the Christmas card. Oh, wait, I don’t get a Christmas card from the Bushes. Never mind.
Anyway, I have to take issue with something my esteemed colleagues at Dome said today – the National Christmas Tree Association did *not* pick the tree. Joe Freeman won last year's National Christmas Tree Assoc. competition, which gave him the right to supply this year’s tree. Freeman says a White House delegation came down in October to pick it out.
(It’s a great image – the official White House usher, florist, and groundskeeper traipsing around an Ashe County mountainside. I bet they’re used to it…and five gets you ten they even like it a little. You can see video of some of it here.)
The only reason I know this is because I did an interview last Wednesday with Joe Freeman, who’s a really good guy to talk to. You can hear our whole six-minute conversation here (minus the intro stuff where I tell him this is for broadcast). And hey – no flack about my hardhitting questions. Freeman’s not a politician. In fact, he’s downright charming.
By the way - Freeman says they picked one of the last two remaining trees from the first crop he ever planted, back in ‘88. And the fate of the other? He says he and his wife “have about decided” to leave that one alone to grow. I bet it’s gorgeous.
Closer to home
The most unappreciated guy on Jones St., legislative gardening guru Stan Yelverton, started decorating for the holidays today. It’s a multi-day process involving two buildings, three ginormous trees, fabulous displays at the entryways, and multiple decorated wreathes throughout.
Stan’s work is just amazing, and he does it all pretty much by himself. He has a theme every year. Last year, it was birds. This year, I can’t tell yet, but so far, I’m seeing lots of red.
If you’ve never thought of the legislature as a sightseeing kind of place, this might be the time of year to reconsider.
The cost of Christmas
Most of the year, the CPI stands for the Consumer Price Index. But these days, it’s the Christmas Price Index. And if you’ve filled your tank lately, you won’t be surprised to learn that French hens and lords a’ leaping ain’t getting any cheaper.
It all started 23 years ago, when PNC Wealth Management decided to calculate the Christmas Price Index – the actual market cost of all the gifts enumerated in the notorious carol, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Back then, it was part gag, part PR stunt, and part commodities education. Current VP James Dunigan says the price fluctations tend to be a pretty faithful reflection of overall changes in yearly markets. Who knew?
This year’s 12 days will run you $19,507 - up 3.1% from 2006. (The real CPI is up 2.8%.)
Gainers:
Five gold rings: up 21.5% over last year
Six geese a-laying: up 20% over last year
Eight maids a-milking (unskilled labor): up 13.6 %, thanks to an increase in the federal minimum wage
Musicians (pipers and drummers): a modest jump of 4%.
Flat:
Birds not normally considered entrees : turtle doves, partridges and swans (Dunigan has obviously never been to NC). One exception - calling birds, which Dunigan says are popular as pets and hence up slightly on fuel costs for transportation.
Ladies dancing: no raise. (Isn’t there a union for that?)
Decliners:
None noted. (Why didn’t my mutual fund guys know about this portfolio?!)
Tally:
If you add up all the purchases in each repeat of this interminable song, your total tab would come out to:
12 drummers drumming x 1 = 12
11 pipers piping x 2 = 22
10 lords a leapin' x 3 = 30
9 ladies dancing x 4 = 36
8 maids a milkin' x 5 = 40
7 swans a swimmin' x 6 = 42
6 geese a layin' x 7 = 42
5 gold rings x 8 = 40
4 calling birds x 9 = 36
3 French hens x 10 = 30
2 turtledoves x 11 = 22
1 partridge in pear tree x 12 = 12
Total: 364 gifts = $78,100.10, up about 4% over '06.
Not having to clean up after all those swans and geese? Priceless.
The whole video’s here, by the way.
Comments? Drop me a line.
