If you were to ask a hundred (or even a million) Christmas tree owners how they acquired their tree, I wonder how many would say they were walking along minding their own business when they found it lying at the side of the road, fully decorated with baubles and lights, so they picked it up and carried it home.
My guess is that not one of them would say that unless, of course, I were one of the survey group - because that is exactly what happened to me last night at about 8:30 PM.
The tree is artificial, about 6 feet tall and very slim, and built around its own stand. As I said previously, it's covered from head to foot in lights and baubles. Why was it lying by the side of the road?
Arriving home, I decided to plug it in but soon noticed that it didn't have a plug. The plug had been cut from the end of the wire. I was about to connect a plug of my own when, purely by chance, I noticed a label attached to the end of the wire. By an even greater chance, I decided to read the label: it told me that the lights needed a 31-volt supply. You will not be surprised to learn that I immediately abandoned my plan to attach a plug to the wire and connect it straight to a wall socket.
As I write these words, I have a very attractive Christmas tree in my living room but the lights won't work. Needless to say, I wish it had come with an appropriate transformer attached but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth - especially one that requires no feeding.
