The Winter Solistice and the Festival of Light

Merrimac is a small town on the fringes of the suburban Boston commute.  Its roots, however, are firmly in rural farming as we snuggled up against the small towns at the border of New Hampshire.

But we do have our own electric company; The Merrimac Municipal Power and Light Authority.

It is my understanding that, not only does this Authority keep Merrimac glowing, but we also contribute to the regional power grid.  Wow, one of the wonders of little Merrimac.  We actually have more electricity than we can consume.  I wonder where we find it all.

My office, which is a short suburban commute across my new artificial paving stone-like patio, is inextricably connected to the modern world though this Authority and I am therefore very familiar with their idiosyncrasies.

During the pleasant weather of late spring, summer and early fall, we are frequently startled by a loud popping bang as we lose power; sometimes for the briefest of moments and sometimes longer.

Through some serious detective work, my wife discovered that these episodes are caused by squirrels frolicking along the power lines and short circuiting the transformers on the power poles.  Not only do they interrupt the power flow to my office, but it seems they blow themselves up as well.

Once I found out the cause of this outage, I would venture out to the street and watch the ever diligent men and women of the Merrimac Municipal Power and Light Authority race to the scene.

With paramilitary precision they would establish their perimeter with florescent orange cones, dawn the molded plastic hat emblazoned with the symbol of the Merrimac Municipal Power and Light Authority, strap on their utility belts carrying all the necessary tools of high voltage assault and fire up the NEW all-purpose Merrimac Municipal Power and Light Authority truck with the one-man dump bucket crane attachment on the back.

The point man then ascends by the miracle of silent hydraulics to the heart of the disaster ready to re-set the trip-switch and scrape squirrels from the scene (May they rest in peace).

Wow, I found myself welling with pride while quietly humming "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

There was one thing I did find odd, however.  The new assault vehicle of the Merrimac Municipal Power and Light Authority was painted a kind of Martha Stewart Bathroom Green.  I guess someone’s wife was recently appointed to the Power Authority board of directors.

Well at least this gives me an opportunity to get out of the office and observe firsthand the burgeoning squirrel population.

My neighbor Norma, who likes squirrels, thinks they are cute frolicking on the wires.  She especially likes the babies in the spring (which are undoubtedly a direct byproduct of the high-wire frolic of the parents.)

I don’t share Norma’s enthusiasm for squirrels.  It is my firm belief that squirrels are rats in fur coats and just because they live in trees doesn’t fool me one bit; no sirree.

The good news is, as we approach the winter solstice, the frolicking squirrels prepare to hide for the season.  But before disappearing entirely, they organize into raiding parties attacking my bird feeder and foraging for sunflower seeds cast asunder by bad mannered birds.  These squirrels even attempted to carry off the suet cage.  Most likely taking it to Norma’s where they feel safe.

I know that the squirrels aren’t the only animals which are reacting to the approach of the winter solstice.  My whole neighborhood is experiencing pagan stirrings resulting from the shorter days.  There seems to be a primal need to participate in a communal festival of light.  Fearful that the sun’s retreat will be permanent and darkness will prevail, the community has rallied to the call.  Even the local churches have embraced the cause.  The whole town has entered into the competition for maximum mega wattage.

We are aflutter with flickering Frostys, Ho-Hoing Santa’s, red-nosed reindeer, thousands of colored bulbs aglow and wiry wise men.  This is all majestically crowned by the illuminated Star of Bethlehem suspended from the communications tower at the Public Safety Building across from the ATM.

I can’t help but be in awe of the merging of all these ancient mystic rights and belief systems into a glorious display of light.  All thanks to the dedication of the men and women of the Merrimac Municipal Power and Light Authority.  Think of the power pulsating through our little town.  (Sorry regional power grid, you lose.)

From my humble perspective there is an added benefit to all this activity.  It affords us yet one more opportunity to electrocute a squirrel.

This makes me very proud of the Merrimac Municipal Power and Light Authority and proud to be a Christian contributor to this seasonal display.