Wondering Around Billings @ ChristmasTime 2008

Yogi Berra, sometime catcher for the New York Yankees, and designated person-to-be-made-fun-of because of what he says, is supposed to have said: "You can observe a lot by watching." So I took his advice and looked around.

Here are some Nativity scenes: the one to the right is a detailed one from Mount Olive Lutheran Church, with some kids, appropriately enough, looking it over. This one has a sign on one of the buildings to the left and out of the picture, sort of looking like it might be a hotel, reading "No Vacancy." The one below left is a live Nativity scene at First Presbyterian Church, unfortunately without animals this year. I suppose the extreme cold temperatures had something to do with the staging.

You can see Mary and Joseph sitting in the center, a manger between them, shepherds in the background being amazed at what they saw, and Wise Men from the East, bringing their gifts and worshipping the baby Jesus, though I don't know if he had been named just yet. Seems to me Gabriel gave him a name at the Annunciation. Maybe it was just a suggestion.

Speaking of announcements, and we were, this is what Bellissimo, premier bell ringers of Billings, used to announce their glad tidings to the community. See right.

And this is what Sandy Rabas, one of Billings' best organists, used to help the singers from West High School announce their Good News. See below left.

And this is what Mother Nature used to remind some of her forgetful creatures that it is not nice to mess with her, not even to suggest that we weaklings could alter her world.







This is a view from our dining room window a few days before Christmas. I had forgotten how painful it is to breathe in below zero temperatures, something we used to do nearly every winter morning in Wisconsin back in the '40s and '50s, delivering the Milwaukee Sentinel to the few regular people who wanted a morning newspaper. In those days young boys actually delivered the papers by riding bikes around the village, carefully putting the paper inside the screen door in the warmer weather and walking around during the snowy colder days and carefully putting the paper inside the storm door. When and why did we get older guys driving cars around and tossing the papers wherever? I wonder if I have confessed that I lied to get the job of paperboy. I was only 10 or so and they were supposed to be 12.

Some places were busy, and others were not. As you can see this Barnes and Noble bookstore was crowded in the days before Christmas. I guess Santa probably had some difficulty lugging all those books around on Christmas Eve for delivery to good boys and girls. When we were young the job was little easier as Santa delivered some of his gifts on 24 December and others on Russian Christmas 12 nights later. Some of us had both German and Russian grandparents.

The picture to the right was taken at mid-day just outside of the entrance to Sears in West Park Plaza. Kind of spooky I thought. But then I think the free marketeers call that "creative destruction."

There was plenty of evidence of optimism in the Billings economy, with CVS and Walgreen pharmacies going up here and there—I wonder if they are going to compete on prescription prices? And Cabela's and a new Animal Hospital, more additions to the Billings Clinic—are they going to give the Mayo Clinic a run for their money? And an addition to Albertson's on Rehberg and Grand. See below. And more. "You can observe a lot by just watching."

I love to stand around and watch guys building stuff, especially with large machines. But it gets cold doing that, so I head for home fairly quickly. On some fairly rough and sometimes slippery roads, made worse by my Traction Control System which is great at keeping one from doing something stupid while you are moving but when you need to keep the wheels turning it needs to be turned off.


Ah yes, now this is what I call domestic tranquillity. The albino tiger cub is lying down with the Crayola markers. Have those guys at Crayola got it figured out or what? These markers only work on certain kinds of paper. Brilliant.














I love those lacy decorations. I wonder if they have a name. Another thing I like are the lights that resemble little red peppers. I think we found those in New Mexico some years ago. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Sort of like me and maybe others too.

Couldn't resist a self-photograph of me and grandson Diego, both of us looking a little surprised at the flash after one of those delayed exposures. He is almost 3 years now. At one time his mother was worried that he wasn't talking enough. That is not a problem these days. He is pretty good at both Spanish and English, though he sometimes says things like "I have two years" which sounds like a literal Spanish to English translation to my not-so-sensitive ears.


There were a lot of us doing our best to eat everything on our plates. I wonder why our mothers insisted on that. I vaguely remember some words or phrases about unfortunate children in Europe too.













We may not have great sunsets here in Montana, but we have excellent sunrises, which are better in the winter because they come at a reasonable time of day. I love the various pinks and oranges and purples of course.