Safe 'n Secure
E-circulating these days is a list of circumstances from the Fifties, the upbringing years, which we survived without zealous government protection or excessive political correctness. Like no seatbelts, no child-proof caps, no video games, no t-ball, etc. It was a far different world. And one of the problems with today's world is that we've tried to fix a lotta stuff that might not have needed fixing, or maybe not so much. Some things, not everything. Removing lead from gasoline and paint was a good idea, as was the opprobrium against smoking.
But a recent news item reports that the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Valley, for the first time in its exalted 75 year history, will not have real Christmas trees or wreaths this season, as a paean to fire prevention. Yosemite Lodge, the middle class digs down the road, will also have to deal with the new restrictions. Apparently the GAO did a study a coupla years back and determined that the Ahwahnee had not even had a fire inspection until three years ago. The National Parks Service didn't seem to think such was necessary; service is their last name.
Some antiques remember when there used to be a fire-fall behind Ahwahnee. A huge bonfire was built at the top of the granite cliffs, a coupla thousand feet up, and then was pushed over the side. Quite a site, as anyone who has been to the park can imagine. But that tradition ended a number of decades ago, because some official thought it wasn't safe. Dunno how they think the Ahwahnee has survived all these years.
For those of you who haven't been in Yosemite Valley, one of the great natural wonders, the Ahwahnee is a magnificent hotel featuring an enormous dining room with towering ceilings that celebrates the holidays with an extraordinary feast -- the Bracebridge Dinners, a three-hour pomp-filled old English banquet -- served ten consecutive nights to winners of a lottery. Despite a high price tag, many who would pay the price don't even get the chance.
The thing is, the Ahwahnee may or may not be fire-prone, and the fact that it has survived three-quarters of a century without a conflagration is proof of nothing. Except that so far they have handled matters properly, and there was nothing to indicate that policies had changed or that fire prevention efforts had grown lax. So it raises the question of whether the Parks Service really needed to intervene.
But it's not a question that matters to the government, and it leaves the tradition-trussed Ahwahnee folks scrambling to make Christmas look like Christmas. They have brought in a coupla experts from Newyorkcity to come up with decorations that are "fake but tasteful." Oh, um, yippee. So some shoulders may sag a wee bi and some brows may furrow, but a good time will be had by all nonetheless. Still, ya gotta wonder if rules should trump reason on a regular basis. Kinda feels like my Wall Street colleague Ray DeVoe describes the sensation: it feels like we're being nibbled to death by ducks.
And that's SetonnoteS...I'm Tony Seton.
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