Santas dragon

Last week a ferocious windstorm blew through my neighborhood. It came just a few days after I finished decorating the exterior of our house for the holidays. I’m sorry to say that the storm killed my Santa dragon.

I was at home when this murder took place. I could hear the wind howling and was wondering if I should take shelter. The trash cans wound up in the neighbor’s yard and when I retrieved them, I noticed my dragon was no longer in the front yard.

My wife bought this thing two years ago at the end of the Christmas season. Last year we proudly displayed him for the first time. He looked a lot like the dragon above. At the end of last year’s Christmas season, I noticed he sustained some damage. The loops used to stake him into the ground were all torn.

Santa’s dragon looked a little sickly this year, but we were able to make do. I found that if I tied ropes around Santa’s neck, the dragon’s tail and one of his arms, I could make him stand up straight. He was listing to starboard a little, but it was something I could live with.

And then came the big storm. Apparently, he took to flight and sailed over the roof before landing in the back yard. It took me awhile to find him, and when I did, he didn’t look so good. I dragged him back to the front yard and plugged him into the extension cord to blow him up. But alas, his injuries were terminal. His motor was no longer working.

Even as I write, the dragon lies in our front yard. I have not had time to bury him yet. His body lies lifeless, deflated, and torn. Come to think of it, I feel kind of deflated and torn myself. Mostly from putting up Christmas decorations. Christmas has a way of doing that to you. Many of us get to the end of the season and feel a little beat up.

So, beware my friends. Don’t let the hectic season blow you away. Remember that the Christ child will still get himself born, even if we don’t find the perfect gift for Aunt Margaret. Santa dragons can be replaced… or they can be buried and forgotten. I vote for the latter.