It is Christmas Eve, time to put up the Christmas tree so that nobody will think I'm a Grinch come Christmas Day. My mother told me that when she was a child, the Christmas tree did not go up until Christmas Eve, after all the kids had gone to bed. It was a great thrill for her to wake up Christmas morning and see the tree and the presents underneath. My grandfather would have a few drinks on Christmas Eve and then go to the Christmas tree lot. He would pick out a 6 or 8 foot tree, carry it up the stairs to the "El" platform, and take the elevated train home to 57th and Prairie Avenue back in Chicago. I hope there weren't too many riders on the train when he did that each year. I can just imagine what it would have been like at rush hour.
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