Living Wright: Let it snow a bit

BY JASON ASHLEY WRIGHT World Scene Writer
Thursday, November 22, 2012
11/22/12 at 6:20 AM

Other than the night I crammed my first Christmas tree - all 8 feet of it - into the backseat of a two-door '92 Nissan Sentra, my first holiday memory as a Tulsa resident was quite picture-perfect.

It was around dusk on a Thursday night at Utica Square, the lights glimmered on the trees, and, just as I rounded the corner of Miss Jackson's, snow flurries started to float around me. Sigh ... And then I fell.

But I picked myself up, and called Mom and Dad to tell them I saw my first snow as a Tulsan. It was as close to magical as I've ever felt this side of a Benadryl during the third Harry Potter film.

Having fallen down icy stairs and slid under a running car during the downtown lunch rush while wearing cowboy boots and a blue faux fur coat, I'm pretty much over the wintry-precipitation thing. Christmas, however, is a different story, and I plan on taking full advantage of what the holidays have to offer around town this year.

As has become a holiday tradition for me and E, I'll be hitting Winterfest near the BOK Center some time next month. This time around, I may actually make one lap around the rink without holding on to the railing - and, most definitely, not laughing at anyone when they fall because, in the great words of Lauryn Hall, "karma, karma, karma comes back to you hard." Word to your mother.

Otherwise, most of my holiday must-dos involve friends' homes, such as publicly committing to Banshee now that I will help her put up a tree the afternoon of Dec. 1. Handily enough, this will also determine whether or not she reads this column as she's been claiming.

I'm embarrassed to say I've never seen the Parade of Lights. My younger, pre-college self would've found that criminal, as much as I loved my hometown parade in Laurel, Miss., which we'd go see after hitting the annual Kiwanis Club pancake breakfast.

It's also a shame I haven't seen "The Nutcracker" in at least 10 years, and I've never seen the local production of "A Christmas Carol." This, despite the fact that it's my all-time favorite ghost story and holiday movie.

Another thing I'm adding to my holiday to-do list is driving around looking at Christmas lights. Chef Larry and I did that in 2010 and had a great time, but 2011 was disappointingly void of searches for Griswold family wannabes. This year, I have to see my friend G at Starbucks, park it on the bench in the courtyard at Utica Square and watch shoppers go from store to store.

If it snows, that will just be icing on the cake. Just in case, though, I'll stash some no-slip ice cleats in my coat pocket.

Associated Images:

Daniel Herold hangs lights on trees at Utica Square. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World