Too Many Soapboxes
by Sally K Lehman
The traditional holiday tree and decorations may cause some chaos this year. Every year the stores along Main Street have participated in coordinated decors of red and green with white lights - as was properly and almost unanimously agreed upon at the Chamber of Commerce meeting in 1982 (the only one against the colors were the owners of the Mystical Arts store and they wanted blue and silver to match their awnings which I always felt were just a little tacky). And every year since 1982 this had been the way things have worked. Until these new people started moving in a few years back.
First there was the nice Jewish couple who had bought out Williams Brothers Jewelry and More. They went to all of the Chamber of Commerce meetings and dinners - even those serving pork (although they never ate it). They paid their Chamber of Commerce dues and were even open on Saturdays for the local Farmer's Market and Art Show. The only thing they ever really complained about - and even the word complain was too strong since they were always so very, very nice about it - was the idea of Christmas decorations. That was when it became known as the "Holiday" tree and decorations. After all, if Moses could talk to a bush, surely the Ellerstiens could accept decorations in the spirit of Chanukah. And they had made such a success of the failing jewelry store.
Then the Thai restaurant was built in '99 on the vacant lot between Second and Third Streets. Nobody thought it would last six months, but the people in town seemed to like that Pad Thai thingy. They came to the Chamber meetings as well. The owners had been born and raised in Thailand, but wanted to be more American, so they were fine with the decorations - provided they could also celebrate The King's Birthday on December 5th each year. We all had to look that one up on that internet when it was first brought up (turns out it's something akin to Father's Day for Thai people). So up goes their signs for that holiday every year. At least they like the red and green color scheme pretty well. And it seemed to make the owners of the sushi place feel more welcome when they started business - you know, having other Asian People around.
Things stayed pretty calm for a year or so, until the local church bought up a whole danged block of downtown. They wanted to bring in Nativity scenes and a big star that would hang between two of the light poles. Of course the Ellerstiens weren't too happy about that, and the Thai folks said it took away from their celebration (the church insisted it had to be there for at least two full months - from mid-November to mid-January). That caused quite the ruckus the first year. Luckily, the Mayor was able to negotiate a compromise that got him reelected the next November. All he really had to do was tell the church folks that any star they put had to be a Star of David (those nice ones that have six corners so the youngsters can't make them into those Satanic things) and tell the Ellerstiens that they could consider the tree a Chanukah Bush (whatever in the world that is), then tell the Thai folks that the King's Birthday was the primary thing we would all be celebrating on that one day. We all could agree to those terms, so things were smooth sailing again for a bit. That man always did have a way of bringing people around.
Of course, when the local bookstore owned by Edna Baker from over on Walter's Landing got those Harry Potter books in stock, the church folks made quite a fuss. A few of them even picketed outside Edna's store for a week or two - until the rain set in and they got tired of being wet. After that, Edna refused to decorate for any of what she called those "Christian Holidays." I suppose she had a point, after all those picketers had cost her some business and we were all worried about sales that year. But the nice Ellerstiens went over and talked to her about it, and she decorated like the rest of us (although she said it was for the Jewish holidays not the other ones even though she still celebrated Christmas at home with her kids and grandkids).
We thought we had seen every possible problem and conflict by then, but things were just getting started.
Harry Martin decided in 2001 to create a small World War II memorial in the front window of his Stamp Collector's store to remember all those soldiers who had missed too many Christmas'. Problem was that the Yashido's had the sushi place right across the street. Mrs. Yashido's folks had been sent to one of those Internment Camps back in the day, and the folks who were supposed to watch over their things had robbed them blind by the time they came back to town to retrieve their property. So anyway, she was pretty down on anyone who even brought up that war (especially seeing as how her folks had been born here in town just like she had). No manner of intervention would do on this one, so the Chamber had to insist that Harry Martin take down his display for the time being - or at least until Mrs. Yashido and her folks got a letter of apology from the state. We were all hoping that would come in quickly, because that memorial was real pretty and quite touching, too.
Then Mr. Yashido decided to support his wife by putting (right in the front window) some just terrible pictures of Japanese folks in one of those camps. Of course the folks in the pictures all looked nicely fed and clean (not like those horrid pictures of the Jews over in Europe back then), but all the same it got Harry Martin all up at arms. But Mrs. Yashido yelled at Mr. Yashido in Japanese for about twenty minutes one afternoon - right on Main Street - and he took the pictures down after that. Sure wish I could speak Japanese that day. I asked her a few months later what she had said, but she just scoffed it off like it had been nothing.
After that, the Martin-Yashido clash continued for nearly the whole summer. We were all worried that the Holiday Season was going to be a mess. But their wives made them both see reason and they even shook hands at the Chamber meeting right before the November, Pre-Holiday Sales Event.
I guess we were all worried about the new owners of the Mystical Arts store. The original owners sold it and moved across the country; the new owners were just not our cup of tea. Along with the odd books and crystals and things, the new owners also put in a tattoo parlor. We should have expected it, I guess, since they were all covered in tattoos themselves - all the way from their knuckles to their shoulders (even on their legs and even the women). Everyone on Main Street was just aghast when those owners - two married couples (at least we think they were married) - came to their first Chamber of Commerce meeting.
At that first meeting, they came in and sat down right in the front row (which is where Harry Martin usually sits - although not that night I can tell you). One of the women was even pregnant; in fact, I had never seen a pregnant woman with tattoos before and it was really quite eye catching. But those two couples proved to be just almost like regular people in the end, and their tattoo customers proved to be big spenders. It seems that they had to wait a lot for the tattooing to begin, so their customers would just roam around in our other stores and restaurants and buy things or eat. Really, once you get used to the tattoos, they seem like ordinary people. And that one lady had a real pretty like girl just after Christmas. Oh yes, and the new owners even liked the red and green color scheme and ended up taking down those awful awnings that had been up.
Well that was last November. And now we're all looking to begin the Holiday Season again here pretty soon. Mr. Martin finally convinced the Mayor to write a letter of apology to Mrs. Yashido and her folks; then he and Mr. Yashido put up a pretty display of both the War veterans and the Internment camps in order to show both sides of things. There are a few new stores - one sells children's clothes, one sells fabric, and there's a new Indian restaurant.
The owner of the children's store is a divorcee that keeps giving the look to some of the men in town. I've heard more than a few women call her a "home wrecker", but I prefer to hold off judgment. I think she may just be misunderstood, because she puts together the loveliest display windows.
The fabric store is a bit on the pricey side, in my opinion. But some people will pay a fool's ransom to get just the right thing, won't they. The lady that owns that shop has an absentee husband that's out working or singing or some such thing. Some of the folks along Main Street think he might not even exist.
The Indian place makes the whole block smell like curry. The Thai place owners are starting to raise a fuss, so we may have another small war hereabouts. Especially since the Thai place used to be the only exotic restaurant on the street before the Sushi and Indian place -the other two places are diners like my husband and my place.
Well, the Chamber meets tonight so I guess we'll see how things go. Maybe I'll suggest we consider a new decorating scheme. I hear that colored lights are coming back into style.
copyright 2007 sally k lehman