The Wrapping of the Trunks

In Houston, outdoor Christmas lights typically aren't put in trees; they're put around the trunks and branches of those trees. When I first came to Houston many years ago, I thought that this custom was completely bizarre, but with time, I came to appreciate the beauty of it, particularly when the trees with the light-wrapped trunks were live oaks (of which Houston has many) and when the lights were white. It takes a lot of lights to make this kind of display work, it's true, and putting them up is a bit labor-intensive. But it doesn't take much creativity, and when it is done correctly, the results are magnificent. I searched extensively online for a good picture to illustrate this phenomenon; but the only decent ones that I could find were on Flickr, and I'm too stupid to figure out how to copy those. So you'll just have to follow this link -- it's not the greatest display in the world, but it should give you some idea of what trees decorated in this manner can look like.

It's Worth It, Part Deux

In response to my post about the new Houston It's Worth It book and the underlying "Houston. It's Worth It" campaign, Mamacita writes:

That actually strikes me as an ill-advised booster campaign.

Mamacita is usually right about these things, and I am usually tone-deaf. However ill-advised the campaign might be, though, I still like it because it succinctly captures my attitude to the city and the problem I have with typical Houston civic boosters.

It is true that Houston isn't Shangri-La, and it isn't for many of the reasons ticked off in the "Houston. It's Worth It" list: the mosquitoes, the humidity, the traffic, and so forth. But no place is without its downside. I like Houston in spite of and in some cases because of its imperfections. This isn't to say that there aren't things about the city that I would like to change, just that I view the city in its totality and that I understand that some of the things that I like about it and dislike about it are inextricably linked.

What bothers me about most Houston civic boosters is that they either feel obligated to apologize for all the things that are less than perfect about the city ("Yes, the traffic is a disgrace, but NASA is close by!") or, deep down, they are ashamed of the city and want to turn it into something it's not ("We need to make Houston world-class!", as if Houston isn't world-class already). I want to live in Houston, not Austin or Dallas or New York or San Francisco. There may be things that Houston can learn from each of those cities, but Houston ought to stay Houston.

I like Houston, warts and all, and I want civic boosters who like Houston, warts and all. The people at "Houston. It's Worth It" do, and that's why I like the campaign, whether it's successful generally or not.

It's Worth It

The Heat
The Humidity
The Flying Cockroaches
The Mosquitos
The Traffic
The Construction
The Sprawl
The Refineries
The Ridicule
The Pollen
The Air
The Billboards
The Flooding
The Image
The Property Taxes
The Short Springs
The Long Summers
The Potholes
The No Mountains
Now, The Book
Houston. It's Worth It.

(I can take no credit for the preceding. I shamelessly copied it. But it is genius.)