A number of years ago, me and Rich (my first partner) were so dead-broke that we couldn’t afford a Christmas tree. I was working in real estate at the time, and December’s a great time to show property, but the commissions don’t start rolling in for a couple of months. And Rich was trying to get his small business building and restoring harps off the ground.
Money was scarce, and we needed most of it for bills. It wasn’t that we had so many bills; we just didn’t have much money.
We allocated $20 a piece for presents, enough to make a good Christmas dinner, and there just wasn’t enough left over for a tree.
I knew that Rich was sad not having one, so I hopped into my trusty Nissan pickup one Saturday morning and headed to Bastrop in search of the perfect tree.
Who needs store-bought when you can swipe a really fresh one for free?
I landed in some indeterminate development that had not been developed beyond dirt roads and a few trees cleared. I walked around looking like I was considering buying a piece of land, found a tree I liked, cut it down, threw in the back of said Nissan, and drove like hell for home.
I figured that if anyone saw me doing the deed, I’d be back in Austin before the authorities got to the crime scene. And it was muddy enough I’m sure my license plate was obscured.
We had a nice Christmas. One of my best.
I learned a lot about the role that material possessions should play in one’s life. The lesson came down to one simple principle: “not too much.”
Me and Shannon are not much better off this year. We’re not broke, but we definitely are affected by the higher cost of everything.
And we don’t have room for a tree, so that part’s out.
Besides, I wouldn’t want to get the car all full pine needles.
And I don’t run nearly as fast as I used to.
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