A Christmas Curiosity

 

I felt the wind and saw alternating red and green lights streaming out of the tunnel as the massive train car pushed the air through the tunnel and paper cups and defunct lottery tickets ran haphazardly along the track before the train, as I was caught in the breeze my hair flying behind me and I saw a wondrous sight coming towards me as the one car F train was being driven by an elf who was just barely tall enough to see over his display panel and out the front window of the train. The pointy tips of the elf's ears and the top of his pointy hat were visible. Instead of a continual stream of white light from the two train lamps, the left lamp was a bright forest green, and the right lamp was a crimson red and they took turns lighting the way as the train danced down the track to the sound of Christmas carols! As the train came to a stop and the doors opened, I was treated to a jolly” HAPPY HOLIDAYS! from the assembled crowd within. The car was packed with all the characters you might expect to find on a rush hour train at the North Pole, all late for their shift in Santa's workshop! It was a brightly lit scene and the smell of twisted pretzels and roasted chestnuts permeated the air while the car was decorated with arched garlands of gold, silver, red and green. There were threaded strings of popcorn displayed throughout the car while brightly lit hand blown glass Christmas bulbs hung down from the ceiling and large thick candy canes wrapped in cellophane were looped through the steel hanging straps. Each traveller had either a cup of eggnog or hot chocolate depending on their preference except for the tin soldiers who were on duty while obsequious elf waiters served petit fours throughout the car.

                There were Santas of various styles and sizes involved in an animated discussion on proper sled packing procedures, while a collection of icy cold snowmen who were somehow not melting in the warm car with their tall black top hats and wool scarves talked shop and discussed the latest in snowball forming techniques, while a large group of choir boys practiced their octaves on one side of the train while carolers dressed in their 19th century garb sang old Christmas carols on the other side. All the voices from both sides of the car somehow harmonized together and it was more beautiful than either group would have been alone. Tin soldiers guarded the entrances of the Christmas car taking their stoic stance and responsibilities very seriously, standing straight and tall while a collection of Nutcrackers chomped away from a red bucket filled with walnuts making a terrible mess on the pristine immaculately clean floor, to the unending joy of a family of white Arctic squirrels who had managed to stow away for the ride to New York City and were happy to police the area, cleaning up all the shells and eating all the delectable walnut morsels that were left behind.

                Like an avian master of ceremonies a brilliant white Christmas goose wrapped in a crimson red scarf hurried around the car making sure that everyone was happy and had all that they wished for, including a homeless man, who had been on the train before the group's arrival, and now found himself wrapped in a brand new Christmas comforter and supplied with a mug of hot chocolate that he cupped in his ruddy  hands, smiling like a child before a beautiful Christmas tree and resting the mug on his unopened wrapped present complete with a large red bow.

                The subway car took off speeding along the track like a high-speed bullet train, silent and smooth streaming along the track seamlessly as if there were no other trains on the track ahead of us. Suddenly we pulled into the well-lit station of 47-50 ST ROCKEFELLER CENTER delineated in shiny ceramic tiles and everyone except the homeless man who vigorously waved goodbye, exited the train and ran up the stairs to the street rushing over to Radio City Music Hall where Santa was being honored by opening the show for the first performance of the season in his own character! While Santa was busy starting the show we all met the new class of Rockettes along with a few veterans from previous years, they were all very tall, beautiful, and excited to start the show. Next, we went over to keep the living nativity animals calm by petting and feeding them. The elves sprinkled fairy dust on the animals which seemed to make them happy and confident for their opening night performance. Unlit and dressed in black the stagehands pushed Santa in his painted plywood sled preceded by 8 beautifully painted reindeers on quiet rubber wheels hidden below the sled onto the great stage. A brass Jingle ball fell from the sled and rolled towards me which I picked up and put in my pocket to avoid a tripping hazard. Santa finished his lines and the curtains closed to tumultuous applause and we wished good luck to the dazzling Rockettes as they kicked their way out onto the stage in formation as the curtain reopened. The nativity animals were calm now and had lost their stage fright with the help of the elves.

                Our entourage left Radio City Music Hall And headed east along 50th St. towards Rockefeller Center making a right turn on 5th Ave to see all the dazzling holiday displays as all the buildings were excited and proud to be dressed in their holiday best with red and green, gold and silver lights with evergreen bows and buildings wrapped in lights like Christmas presents highlighted in red neon bows. We stopped to say hello to Atlas who was still stoically holding up the heavens as his punishment from Zeus dictated for his role in the Titanomachy incident.

“GREETINGS SANTA!” the massive strong man bellowed. “A very Merry Christmas to you!” said Atlas.

“The same to you Atlas, I only wish that I could relieve you of your burden for one night, but I know that this is forbidden.” Santa exclaimed.

                Atlas nodded solemnly.

“Could I ask you to give my greetings to my brother Prometheus down on the ice rink as he continues his daily torture of being a source of nourishment for the Great Eagle feeding on his regenerative liver, and all because of his faux pas in reference to giving the gift of fire to man, a simple slip of the tongue I might add?”

“Yes, I would be happy to do that,” said Santa.Santa made a mental note to speak to Zeus about a reprieve for the two brothers encapsulated in metal for the rest of eternity.

We moved into the Rockefeller Center complex now passing the lighted angels with their glittering trumpets trumpeting and viewed the ice rink teeming with skaters. There was a strong wind blowing as we caught our first view of the great tree, the largest Christmas tree in New York City. One hundred flags whipped around the rink in the strong breeze. A huge crowd of skaters moved in a counterclockwise fashion moving in synchrony around the circular rink overseen by Prometheus with a man in a white beard and a red suit talking to him! It was then that we realized that Santa had disappeared and reappeared with the brother of Atlas, Prometheus. Prometheus appreciated the greetings from his brother as they never got to see each other anymore although they were each encased in metal only a few hundred feet apart.

                Now our group returned to the brightly lit 5th Ave and walked along in a southerly direction smelling roasted chestnuts and twisted soft pretzels from various peddlers along with food trucks from all over New York City and inspired by the  cuisine of every corner of the world selling their sumptuous delicacies until we reached 42nd St. and the Great Library where Santa spoke to Leo Astor and Leo Lennox sprinkling them with some fairy dust and releasing them from their pedestals to walk with us over to the Christmas village at Bryant park with their solemn promise to be on best behavior and not chase pigeons, dogs or horses! Upon reaching Bryant Park, Santa sprinkled the sculpture of Gertrude Stein with fairy dust and after she came to life, they discussed her Paris salon meetings.

                The park was behind the library on the West side of the block which had originally been the end point of the Croton reservoir system for New York City but now have been transformed into the library. Nine floors of state-of-the-art subterranean reference books sat silently below the park waiting to help the public and scholars from around the world with their inquiries and research. I wondered how many people celebrating in this holiday village tonight were aware of this history and what a treasure lay below their feet. Our group of merry revelers were crowded together in a small circle as the village was very crowded when everything started to fade away and I found myself with my nose pushed up against the glass of the Christmas shelf of my curio cabinet and I realized that all this had  been a dream.On previous occasions I had reflected that my Christmas curio shelf was so crowded that it resembled a subway car at rush hour.However I  found  a ticket stub in my pocket for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the jingle ball that I remembered picking up earlier that evening? This entire adventure had been a curious, curio conundrum!

Jim January ‘25