Photo: WJAR/file photo.
Traffic on Interstate 195 west builds up on the approach to the Washington Bridge in East Providence, where one lane had to be closed a year ago. Now you can have a Washington Bridge Christmas ornament.
I do get tired of “Jingle Bells” and “Deck the Halls” on the radio starting before Thanksgiving, but there are other seasonal songs I look forward to hearing again, some that are lovely (“Mary’s Boy Child”) and some that are playful (“Santa Baby”).
If you want to hear holiday music that’s a bit different, check out WICN, the Worcester jazz station, here. It’s a breath of fresh air. I love seeing the creativity that holidays bring out in jazz musicians.
The holidays bring out the creativity of ornament makers, too, delighting people who want a small, kooky gift to give or something different for their own tree.
Ed Fitzpatrick at the Boston Globe has written about a new Christmas tree decoration that makes hay out of an unwelcome event in Rhode Island: the sudden closure last year of the westbound lane of a critically important bridge. Rhode Islanders are still dealing with the chaos that ensued.
“Forget Christmas ornaments of snowmen, Santa, or even the Big Blue Bug,” says Fitzpatrick. “This year, Rhode Islanders are decorating their Christmas trees with a miniature replica of the Washington Bridge ― complete with orange traffic cones shifting drivers away from the westbound lanes, which have been closed for more than a year. …
“Facing the choice of laughing or crying, many of the Rhode Island motorists who’ve spent time idling in bridge traffic jams have added a sardonic touch to their fir trees.
“Duke Marcoccio, the design artist behind mylittetown.com, said the Washington Bridge is by far the best seller from among the dozens of ornaments he sells. …
“Marcoccio, a Narragansett resident, said he has been making Christmas ornaments for 25 years now. The first was a replica of The Towers in Narragansett. Since then, he has created about 300 ornaments, including a Del’s lemonade cup, the Haven Brothers mobile diner, the Benny’s sign, and the Big Blue Bug. …
“The biggest hit has been the Washington Bridge ornament, Marcoccio said. He said he considered placing tiny orange traffic cones on the bridge deck, but they probably would have broken. So he just painted the cones and shifting lanes on the span. ‘They get the idea,’ he said.”
Read more of the entertaining story at the Globe, here. And please share holiday songs you like, especially ones that don’t get much play. Beautiful or quirky.
Louis Armstrong and his song “‘Zat You, Santa Claus?”
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