As I was searching for a picture to post tomorrow where I come up with a possibly witty and funny comment, I stumbled upon this picture I took while working at Universal Studios in Orlando. This is the "Holiday" Tree from Macy's Holiday Parade. (Can't call it a Christmas Tree, that wouldn't be politically correct, bah humbug!) It has a very impressive light display as you can see all the lights on it, almost as if there are more bulbs than there are branches for them to hang on. But if you look close enough in the picture above, you might see a little furry head of a squirrel peeking out. Ok, so there's a squirrel in the tree, no big deal, right? Who hasn't seen a squirrel climb a tree with lights before? Let me tell you, this isn't a real squirrel, but a mechanical squirrel added in the tree. Now why would they do that? The mechanical squirrel was added in as a tribute to a real squirrel that did climb all inside the tree and started gnawing on the branches and light strands. They've tried to catch it and remove it, but couldn't because it was too fast for them. After several repairs to the lights, they finally caught him as he fried himself biting into a power line. They felt sorry for the little guy, and added this little mechanical squirrel as a little memorial for it, right where it had been zapped. Not many know of the squirrel's existance, because nobody ever gets close enough to really examine the tree. Besides, it's best to admire the tree from quite a distance so that you can see the whole thing go through it's light display. Next time you head down to Universal Studios for their annual Macy's Holiday Parade, try to see if you can find the squirrel in the tree. If you do, you'll now know why it's there.




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