Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Letter: Ba-Humbug? Not in Los Baños!

Here's the scenario: Los Baños downtown merchants have been busy getting into the "Spirit of Christmas," hoping that the nay-sayers are wrong about the current shopping economy and hoping for a warm, cozy, successful, downtown shopping experience that will keep them in business and along the way, support the local tax base. (Remember: Shopping local supports that tax base, which by -the-way, funds public service in our community.)

Sadly, the merchants are told that the city has no money to put Christmas lights in the trees downtown to enhance the holiday spirit. It seemed that the "Grinch Stole Christmas." Enter, stage left, a couple of downtown merchants who would not let the Grinch prevail.

Then, Paul Cardoza from the Los Banos Parks and Recreation division, was contacted by the two merchants, with the question: "Where are the twinkly lights that the city and the merchants previously purchased to bring holiday cheer to downtown trees in previous years?"

Well, Paul reported that the city has them in storage, but sadly, the merchants were told again, that the city cannot afford to install them in the downtown trees, but that the city would gladly deliver them downtown, if the merchants could facilitate the installation of the lights.

Can the two downtown merchants take matters into their own hands and get the trees lighted without expending city funds? One merchant enlisted a family member to wrap downtown tree trunks with lights; the other enlisted a friend to do the same. Merchants banded together to pay for the trees to be wrapped with the twinkly lights. The all-American ingenuity and spirit has prevailed in downtown Los Banos!

The downtown merchants hope that you will enjoy the inviting ambiance that the lighted trees will bring to your downtown holiday shopping experience.

Many thanks are due to Paul, Randy and Carlos from our city's parks department for delivering the lights to the downtown merchants and to the city of Los Banos for providing the electricity to light them up to make our downtown a Grinch-free winter wonderland!

Sherry Pearson, Pearson's Jewelers