Oh, I love the smell of fresh cut pine.

posted by Chuck Ayers
 
The perfect tree.
We were living in Sacramento December 1966.  Right at the corner of 48th Street and ‘P’ Street in a duplex with a fire place.  Perfect for Santa to shimmy down.
Wife and I were about less than a half mile off US-50.  A most narrow four lane street.  Go west for about 50-miles and you will cross the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.  Go east and you will end up in the Sierra foothills just past Pollick Pines.  .
On this particular day we were headed up the foothills and looking for a tree farm.  A tree farm looking for the perfect shaped Christmas tree.
As we drove up the Lincoln Highway one could see signs directing passersby to various tree farms.  So, just choose one.  So we did.  We pulled off US-50 headed for a farm whose sign told us to go that way.  We came up on to an open area to park our car, then parked, and set off looking for the perfect tree with my trusty hand saw. 
Families with excited kids whooping and screaming were all over the farm.  “look over here dad or honey come look at this one. “As families were scouting for the right tree, I came up on a tree out in a clearing that couldn’t have had a brighter red arrow pointing down at it indicating this one here Chuck.  I couldn’t believe adults and kids were all over the tree farm and not looking at this one tree.  I walked all around it.  It had a full Christmas tree shape.  I thought, not bad.  It appeared to be about 7-feet tall, a nice thick base, and dog gone if it weren’t the perfect tree. 
So I asked the tree farm guy how much and he said, Seven bucks.  Then he told me if I wanted it I were to saw the base at an angle.  So I did as he told me and gave him a five and two ones.  Carried it over to our car, tied it down, and off we went back to 48th and P.  And after carrying into the house we attached a metal stand and started our tree decorating.  Don’t you just love the smell of fresh cut pine.  Merry Christmas everyone.