By Alkali Springs Correspondent
In the beautiful Bear Paws there is more snow than has been seen at one time out there for maybe two years. It sparkles in the sunlight and on non-windy but cold days, even the mountain animals seem to like the change.
And during this very wonderful time of year, if you get out in the country very much at all, you realize, even more than living in town that it really is a dark time of year. Dawn seems to be so slow in getting around to letting itself be shown, and dark draws itself around everything like a curtain around four in the afternoon.
That is why it is so marvelous to drive up and down the mountain coulees these days and see all of a sudden around a curve a grand display of Christmas lights, lighting up what seems to be almost eternal darkness. And lest you think we are mountain prejudiced, one of the greatest enjoyments we get when riding the train from Havre to Whitefish is all the lights in the countryside along the way that can only be enjoyed by a few and night-time train riders.
That seems to be the essence of what this wonderful and magical season is all about. Lights in the dark, leading the way, showing love from farm to farm just as the great star led those wise men and shepherds to a manger so long ago.
We wonder if people who hang those lights, ever know the effect they have on we weary travelers, tired of the darkness of a cold winter night.
So they become a harbinger of the great story that makes this season so special. And just another variation of that old poem by Robert Frost that has as its message that man works together whether he works together or alone.
As we grow older, we still dwell way too much in the trappings of Christmas, the tree, and decorating house and cabin. That must be the German in us. But more and more the simple story of the season means more and more and the trappings less and less.
So for another of these magical seasons, from us and ours to you and yours, a very merry Christmas! May Christmas lights guide your paths all seasons.
