Clark’s crazy chaotic Christmas |
The Christmas spirit, according to 14-year-old Clark’s mother, requires a complete absence of his father’s special “help.” Every year, Dad’s help comes in the form of a new, inexplicably-terrible idea.
One year, he made a life-size nativity scene out of papier-mâché, resulting in a soggy, terrifying baby Jesus with a newspaper for a face. It was the mayor’s face, a photo taken by the paper’s award-winning photographer just after a mouthful of five-alarm chili at a chili cook-off he was judging.
This year, Dad’s vision was an outdoor extravaganza. He’d purchased a 20-foot inflatable Santa and a double chorus line of dancing light-up reindeer. Dad had the Santa tethered with dog leashes, which, as Clark pointed out, was a questionable choice considering the Peterborough winds in December.
His mom was inside, trying to maintain her composure while basting a turkey the size of a corgi. This year, they were hosting Ralph’s uncle,........