The World Series hasn’t even started, Halloween is a couple of weeks away, yet I can’t stop thinking about… Christmas.

Not because of any anticipation of Santa Claus leaving lots of presents under the tree — it’s the traditions of Christmas and the holidays that have me wanting to fire up the Way Back Machine for one of those traditional celebrations.

For instance, when I was a kid, decorating the Christmas tree was a tradition heaped in history, sentimentality, and tradition. Every year, my mom would insist on my dad taking her for a Douglas fir tree. Mom felt that species had the best look, and its needles stayed on longer than others.

So off we would go to The Last Chance, crossing over the Carey Avenue Bridge, to choose our tree. It didn’t take long. Mom knew what she wanted. Then b

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