All Things Profane and Sacred

I've got a bit of a culture lag problem: I'm sitting here wrapping Christmas presents for the folks back home (because I'm a bit glare blind after staring at the computer screen most of the day frantically working away) and I hear this loud ass noise. I glance out the windows and see a large vehicle of some sort with a couple of flashy lights go by and think, "Oh, just the snowplow going by." I'm not sure just what it was that went by, but I'm morally certain it wasn't a snowplow.

In a Christmas related vein: I think outdoor Christmas decorations look awfully sad in Portland. They squelch in the mud and wet leaves instead of sitting primly on top of a blanket of pristine snow. Blech.