Happy Festive Seasonal Merry Holiday Greetings

The Holiday Season has descended on South Florida and for the past month we have been cautiously wished a "Merry Christmas" a "Happy Hanakuh", or the pc safe "Happy Holidays" despite the fact that the great day was at that stage still a long way off. But now we are on the home run and tonight we plan to make our annual pilgrimage out into the suburbs to admire the lights. This will be our third voyage of discovery and each year we are amazed to see the extent to which people go in order to send their electricity bills spiralling and to out-do their neighbours. Massive reindeer vie with enormous snowmen and an assortment of Disney figures are juxtaposed with angels and mangers. Roofs that have already born the brunt of Hurricane Wilma are now staggering under the weight of loaded sleighs, and apart from having your garden filled with sparkling twinkling figures, it is now neccessary to have the air filled with jangled musical offerings. Florida is an incredibly cosmopolitan area and it is quite possible to travel the length of one suburban street and hear an assortment of music ranging from Santa's on his Way, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Feliz Navidad and All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth. This past weekend we drove up to Fort Lauderdale to witness that Florida tradition - The Intracoastal Waterway Festival of Lights. Having found ourselves a spot on the edge of the canal along with a couple of hundred other souls who sat in incredible discomfort on outcrops of concrete and stone up the side of one of the drawbridges, we enjoyed the spectacle of a succession of massive luxury cruisers, small motor launches and yachts all dressed from stem to stern in sparkling lights and issuing forth a mixture of thumping disco music and Christmas carols. The theme was supposed to be "The Jewel of the Nile' in keeping with the King Tut exhibition that has reached Fort Lauderdale, and we were presented with a selection of Cleopatras, asps, pyramids and palm trees from one quarter, and the more traditional Santa Claus (because nobody dares refer to him as Father Christmas in these politically correct times) and a number of leaping elves, some of whom looked in severe danger of falling into the dark waters beneath. It took an hour and a half for all the boats to pass by and while this meant waving dutifully to each one that passed, I felt somewhat sorry for the passengers on board who had been waving for the past three hours on their progression up the waterway. We made our way home via Las Olas, the famous shopping street of Fort Lauderdale, and thanks to a solid traffic jam, we could enjoy the twinkling lights, the warm sultry air, the vibe of the pavement cafes and the pleasantries being exchanged between drivers, pedestrians and waiters. "Move that heapa crap outta my way idiot", "Hey you got eyes moron, I'm drivin' here". "Who ordered two pizzas with anchovies and one without?" "Call that a tip you shmuck" "You call that service?" We drove on home and eagerly finalised the packing for our trip out into the Seminole Indian Reservation where we intend to camp for six days while the festive season makes its merry way into the New Year. I doubt anyone will miss us much as we would add very little to the screaming, flailing, fighting, arguing general public - and that's just to get a spot in a parking lot. At least out in the Everglades, we really can hark and hopefully either hear the herald angels sing, or Charlie the alligator barking at his mates. Which ever way you choose to celebrate the up-coming week, our very best wishes to you all and may all that you would wish yourselves be yours in the New Year.