“Is your house on fire, Clark?”
“No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.”
With Valentine’s Day behind us and St. Patrick’s Day fast approaching, this may seem like an odd time of year to photograph Christmas lights, but I had to capture an image of our very own Griswold family in front of their festive display.
For the record, I tried to photograph them much earlier in the season, but I wanted to do so when the Marcins would be on hand for the occasion. Finding a time when this busy family could stand in front of their house for five minutes, not dashing off to a hockey game or other obligation, proved harder than I anticipated.
All winter, I walk and drive past this house, with the lights boldly accenting its Dutch Gambrel profile, and I smile. Then again, Tony and Kate always make me smile. Kate is the decorations goddess of Lily’s Luau—a veritable duct tape ninja. Tony is a champion cannonball diver and all around good guy who’s always ready with a goofy smile and a helpful hand.
When I found it was almost time for Tony to take his holiday lights down, I seized upon a hockey free evening and snapped a few photos of the lights and the family.
If Tony ever does set his house ablaze with Christmas lights, he’ll be in good hands. His brother is a Madison firefighter. All we need is an RV and a flatulent Rottweiler, and we’ve got ourselves a feature film.