‘Tis the season for Christmas tradition, especially when it’s a highly venerated, nostalgic, family-focused affair whose importance is known by a select few. Such is the case for Neil Olson of Wausau, Wisconsin, whose Christmas tree has stood unmoved in his living room for 40 years. I think he’s in the running for a few Guinness World Records (and a Darwin Award or two).
According to the Marshfield New Herald:
“Most of ’em don’t last,” Olson, 89, said. “The needles are kept on for a reason. It’s supernatural, I say.”
Olson put up the tree in 1974 when two of his six sons went off to serve in the Vietnam War. He planned to take it down when he had all six boys home again for Christmas at the same time.
He’s still waiting for that day.
Don’t worry, none of Olson’s boys are dead. They’re all alive and well, but not everyone can make the journey back to Wausau.
Five of the kids live in Wausau. But the eldest, who is disabled, lives in Washington state and has been unable to make the journey back to Wisconsin at Christmas.
“I bet you if my sixth boy comes home, the needles will drop right off,” Olson said.
They probably will, and when they do, Olson’s house will most likely burst into flames. Not because of anything supernatural (like burning bushes and spontaneous combustion), but because of science. Maybe we should get Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Twitter account on the case.
Source: Marshfield News Herald