December 17, 2006

Tonight was cold-call Christmas Caroling at the Rodney Street Laundry. Actually it was the gathering place to go out singing and then come back to for hot chocolate, cookies, and many other treats. This was an official Rodney Street Neighborhood event. An ice sculpture contest is coming in February with training prior to on how to make the ice block ---snow in a box, water, let freeze, repeat. Then the attendees will learn about carving tools. I’ve seen chain-saws work wonders but I’m thinking you’d have to make a really big box of ice to use that machinery. Butte (it is not pronounced "but", try again) had a contest last weekend that was one to rival as well as get tips from, so I heard. All I know is that I won’t stick my tongue on the sculptures. My brother Paul taught me that with the ice trays in our freezer…twice…once with a babysitter that then had to figure out how to get my tongue unstuck. Rip.

I haven’t been caroling in a very long time. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I went. Must have been when I was a youth director at a church in Texas eons ago. I did participate in a Posada a little over ten years ago but though it was walking around in the dark from house to house (traditionally three) and some singing was involved, it was not caroling. The Posada is a Mexican tradition of re-enacting Joseph and Mary’s search for a room at the inn, the first two houses turn away the young couple. The third allows them in and that is the home that has the Posada for the evening. There is way more depth to the traditional, symbolic pilgrimage and my experience was more superficial, we went back to the church for cookies and hot chocolate…not that the people who welcomed Joseph and Mary weren’t willing to take us in, it was simpler to organize in the fellowship hall. Also as I recall from my Bible lessons I don’t think cookies and cocoa were a part of the nativity scene even after the wise men showed up with gifts but treats seem to always follow modern religious walks in the dark.

I don’t know what the weather was like in Bethlehem, but Texas was balmy compared to here where the temperature hovered around 18 degrees (Fahrenheit that is). It was a jolly group negotiating three-inch ice on some sidewalks. I’m certain it got thicker as the time went on. Next year I’ll remember to bring the kitty litter. There were some excellent singers in the bunch that led us and set the pitch and did other musical things. Emma went along and she got nose to nose with one dog from one of the houses we caroled.

But it was the house where they were celebrating the third night of Hanukkah where she got to all-out bark at two other big dogs, one a fellow golden retriever. I thought that house was an especially good one for her to cause a ruckus since we were singing a very Christian Christmas song (one about Jesus and not Santa) at a not-Christian home. We didn’t know that until one explained what they were doing inside when we came out of the before-midnight-clear blue and interrupted. The people were very, very gracious. It was an uncomfortable moment especially when one sang out a reminder, “Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel.” I say “uncomfortable” because we were a bunch of liberals –or at least those of us I knew-- that celebrate diversity and respect pluralism (there are at least three “bad” words in that sentence according to Jerry Falwell). And even though we had Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls, Up On the Rooftop, and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas in the repertoire and could add “Dreidel” how does one know where to sing what song. There isn’t time for carolers to sing (or households to hear) a medley of interfaith as well as secular songs at each house. But even without any religious purpose or intent, we were still putting Christ back into Christmas (though I don’t think he really comes out since he takes up all but the last three letters) or make that putting Christ into the Holidays…which is not something I really want to do for those of other faiths. And it’s not that I really have anything against Christians per se, some of my best friends and dearest loved ones are, some even clergy I might add, and I even received mail as Bishop Marilyn B. Alexander for a couple of years until my theology school alma mater figured out that I had falsified my name and address change card. But I love and honor my friend Acharya Swami Durga Das too!

I had been pondering our “cold-call caroling” as we started out, wondering if everyone would want Christmas Carolers coming to their house. Would there be cranky people like me, ambivalent about the season, over-educated and experienced about how the church has destroyed lives throughout history and still today through its discrimination? (Oh, that’s the holiday spirit.) In general though, it is a very happy thing to have a group of singing people surprise you at the door and a couple of people even put their coats on and joined us. One house we got cookies. At another house, the woman who opened her door said, “And they say that nothing ever good happens in this neighborhood.” Some people did look like they felt a little awkward but that might be because they were torn between really wanting to see the end of Desperate Housewives and being polite. A car of teenagers stopped just to hear us sing and clapped and hollered. I just imagined one of them saying, “I’ve heard of such but I’d never seen it in person.”

We returned to the Laundry by way of the B&B Market and a quick stop at Jesters if nothing else to get our dose of second hand smoke for the next decade. That was the only place where someone danced a jig to the music. By then and appropriately so we sang, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

Over refreshments I got to talking with Mariann about what she liked about living in the Rodney Street neighborhood where she’s been for over ten years. She said, “What I like the most is everybody greets each other. The drug people don’t bother me. If there is a problem, people take care of it. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Helena.” Also in the thawing group was State Legislator Christine Kaufmann. I took her picture as a before-senator photograph as she is on the short-list to fill a senate seat and she’ll find out Tuesday if she is in. After refreshments, I gave one of the women in the group a ride home due to the bad ice. The last thing she said was, “There is no place like this neighborhood.” No doubt.

Happy Holidays!

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