http://cartmonkey.blogspot.com/2010/11/spud.html
Here's the deal. 30 years ago we threw the very first version of the Christmas Potato. It wasn't even a potato. Actually, the first attempt to thanks folks for Christmas light displays involved driving around and jotting addresses down and mailing post cards. Maybe a couple dozen cards got mailed. Later that December I typed up a little note about the lights and used the first Christmas card I drew at age 6 to illustrate my thank you notes.
The big dilemma was how to deliver the notes. That year the method of delivery involved wrapping the notes around sticks of kindling purchased in bulk at a 24-hour Skaggs Alpha Beta. This is back when it was still chilly at Christmas even as far south as Austin. We bundled up, and motored about with the windows down, thanking folks in our own unique way.
Still, I thought there must be a better method of delivery. Very honestly the notion of a potato hit me out of the clear blue the next year as I drove home from work at the ole Sound Warehouse and saw the first lights of the season.
Over the years we've tried different ways to attach notes to potatoes with varying degrees of success. Tossers around the country have contributed their own special touches to the tradition. Rumor has it that the Crescent City will receive holiday spuds for the first time in the Big Easy's nearly 3 centuries of existence during the coming weeks. How cool is that?
Looking back over the last 3 decades I can vouch for at least at a minimum of 300 lbs, but in reality I'm sure there have been many more.
It doesn't matter if you throw spuds or not. It is a load of fun and a nice way to take in the lights of the season. The tradition evolved out of the most important essential lessons ever taught to me by my mom. Always remember to say thank you. I won't go into the teaching of the lesson. I will say it involved a slap up the side of the head and the shame of knowing I embarrassed my mother in front of one of her dear friends. Late in her life my mom told me that the, "potato thing," actually finally made her proud of me. Great gal, tough room. ( an interesting aside, the location of the lesson learning was the site of a brutal murder several years later)
In closing, throw spuds if you want, but always remember to say, "Thank you."
