Is Enough Ever Enough?

“‘And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’

“……That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”

There’s always one person in every neighborhood who seems to think that the only way to celebrate any holiday is by erecting enough decorations to cause airplanes to veer off path and try to land. Their homes are akin to a neon homage to Tammy Fay Baker. These are the people who’s religion demands they shop at Never Enough Lights. The very rudiment of their faith includes the phrase “Thou must have a 128 channel light controller and starter kits are currently on sale.”

That’s from the Holy Book of Stultus est Sicut Stultus Facit.

Oh, look it up, I’m not a freaking teacher.

Anyway, “overboard” is where these people begin when it comes to holiday fun. “Excess” is just a word for losers in their minds. So, it should come as no surprise that some people aren’t thrilled with those people.

After all, would you want a quarter million strangers traipsing across your lawn?

That’s a question being asked by the nice residents of Prairie Village, Kansas. Faced with an unwanted tourist attraction, Reuters is reporting that some folks have had enough.

Mike Babick’s display of Christmas spirit has grown too popular for some neighbors, who complain his expanding array of lights and holiday figures draw some unwelcome gawkers.

Babick’s passion for the holiday has driven him to adorn his modest one-story home in this Kansas City suburb with more than a thousand figures housed in display cases that go up to his rooftop.

Babick, 69, said his display requires a month to set up and draws some 250,000 visitors each year based on a vehicle-counter he installed on his street.

“It’s a gigantic Christmas present to everyone — from me,” Babick said in an interview.
But some neighbors say Babick’s Yuletide creation has become too popular. Cars, limousines and tour buses sometimes block the street and driveways. Visitors trudge across their lawns, with some pausing to relieve themselves.

“There are too many people any more who don’t have respect for others,” said Bob Myhre, who lives two doors down.

In response to complaints from some 30 residents, police made Babick’s block temporarily one-way and put up no-parking signs, but that has not stopped visitors from parking in private driveways.

“We’re not anti-Christmas, nobody’s anti-Christmas,” said Myhre, who has a modest light display on his home.

Jessie Novak, who lives across the street, said the traffic drawn to Babick’s display is bothersome but tolerable.

“I would move if it wasn’t there,” Novak said of the display. “I know it’s crazy and out of the norm, but I really enjoy it. It would beat any store window in New York.”

Babick tries to keep cars moving and picks up litter nightly, saying he understands neighbors’ concerns.

“There are only a couple of Grinches in the whole bunch,” he said.

“We do have a lot of frowns turn to smiles,” he said. “What I really like to see is the kids — the laughing and the smiling. That’s my reward.”

Since there are no laws on the books to stop this guy, or the dude down my block with the singing Santa that sounds like Satan Claus, I guess we’ll just have to grin and bear it. After all, the holidays are supposed to be about Peace, Goodwill and prayers for a power outage.

In the meantime, I know you well enough to know that you want to watch a pretty video with lots of winking, blinking lights. So, here you go.

Now get off my lawn and go away.