Weather, calendar has him confused (11/29/06)

Indiana weather is always changeable. And the seasons can get confusing when autumn is passing into winter.

Just the same, I found myself scratching my head this month more than once, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

The first time was on Nov. 16.

It was a chilly, rainy night, not very hospitable at all.

But the old Portland fire station was solid and secure. Stark and honest, it may have been the perfect place for the live nativity presentation put on by members of Westchester United Methodist Church.

The event was part of the kickoff of WinterFest, a Portland Area Chamber of Commerce event aimed at sparking the local holiday season.

Inevitably, it seems, the Christmas holiday has expanded and moved further up the calendar. Part of that is commercialism, but part of it - I believe - is simply American enthusiasm. We love Christmas, and we always seem to want more of it, even if that means spreading it a little thin.

In this case, it meant a lovely nativity scene played out for folks sitting on bales of hay in an old fire station. It also meant Christmas carols, and there are few things I like better.

And yet, as I raised my voice for "Joy to the World" with everyone else, the calendar returned to my mind. Here we were, singing Christmas carols on Nov. 16.

My birthday is Nov. 17, and never in my life had I sung Christmas carols before my birthday. That's the sort of thing a guy remembers.

It's not that it was bad, not at all. In fact, I was in pretty good voice that night and especially enjoyed "O Come All Ye Faithful." But it was different.

The bite of the winter wind when we left the fire station made it all seem appropriate.

Indiana weather can do that, of course, jumping forward or backward a month in an instant.

I'd forgotten about the early caroling until last weekend, when - yet again - Indiana weather had taken another turn.

The sky was alive with sun. The temperature was hovering in the low 60s. And I was mowing the lawn.

After Thanksgiving.

I'm not sure if I've ever in my life mowed the lawn after Thanksgiving.

Late October to be sure. Even early November. But after Thanksgiving?

By then, we're usually buttoned up and ready for winter.

So, which is right?

Christmas carols in mid-November? Or mowing the lawn after Thanksgiving?

Or is that, in the end, one of those mysteries of Midwestern life we just write off as beyond deciphering?

Your guess is as good as mine.

But I do know two things for sure.

It felt great to sing those carols, and the lawn sure looks good.[[In-content Ad]]