On a Shortage of Christmas Tree Stands

My sister called. I couldn’t tell if she was laughing or if she was crying.

There’s a Christmas tree stand shortage in Raleigh.

She’d bought a tree at Lowe’s. She needed a stand. They were out.

She went to Target. She went to Wal-Mart. She went to Kmart. She went to the grocery store. Someone, surely, had a Christmas tree stand.

No. Everywhere she went, they were sold out.

“Did you try Home Depot?” I asked.

“There’s no Home Depot around here.” I was thinking of the one in Cary, which isn’t really that far away. But it was far away for her.

She’s taking the tree back. “I don’t know if they’ll even take the tree back! But I can’t put it up without water!”

A shortage.

Of Christmas tree stands.

I’ve never heard of such a thing!


A query letter has been written.

It’s for an article that I would love to write. In fact, I’ve already drafted some of it. I’ve even written the final line!

And it’s one of those crazy, slightly madcap things that are so typical of me.

Will I get to write the article? Don’t know. This is really, truly a long-shot. But then, really, what isn’t?

The query letter is going in the mail on Monday.

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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