A Woman, A Voice, & a Life In-Between: Christmas Tree.
How long is too long to leave up your holiday decorations? For me, it was Tuesday, January 15. That was the day we decided to put out our live Christmas tree for garbage collection. My sister needed me to steady the tree while she unscrewed it from the tree stand, so I grabbed the trunk with my bare hand and waited. When I pulled my hand back out, it was covered in sap – and something else: small black dots. When I looked closer, I saw the dots were moving. A full-on cardio workout ensued as I panicked and flung myself around the room yelling “Bugs! It’s BUGS!” Our tree had aphids. Apparently, they’re a common issue with live Christmas trees (thanks, Google!). The insects hibernate in the tree trunk, but wake back up once they are safe within your warm, welcoming home. We managed to dump the tree and vacuum up the stray needles and squashed bugs in no time, but it took a while for me to recover from the shock. I was up until one in the morning that night scratching at imaginary aphids and imagining them throwing a little six-legged rave in my afro. Next year, I’m going for a tree that’s more artificial than a plastic surgery addict, and I’ll leave it up just as long as I please.
– Tiffany Blair, LBSPY #25 (Jan 28-Feb 11)
HASHTAGWV ART & ENTERTAINMENT Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Christina Entenmann-Edwards has been a WV resident since September 2008. She was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is no stranger to hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2006, she graduated from Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Connecticut), Cum Laude, with a B.A. in History. In 2010, she graduated with an M.B.A. from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia). In February 2012, Christina launched HashtagWV as the area’s first full-color, free arts and entertainment tabloid + online platform. Christina completed the Leadership West Virginia class of 2021, which is an innovative program that grows, engages, and mobilizes leaders to ignite a life passion to move West Virginia forward.