Cheer-

Before long, the winding whistle of New Orleans will clump into the grind and gristle of New York. That's unavoidable. Don't think I'm welcoming the clump, that I'm not trying with fervor to resist it. But it is unavoidable.

One easing factor, however - and I never thought I'd say this - is the onset of The Holidays.

In New York, The Holidays last from the week before Thanksgiving till after New Year's - over a full month of festive cheer. During this time, radio stations play endless carols, advertise extensive bargains, and generally evoke the most saccharine sort of nostalgia from their listeners. When I first came to NY, I found it all obnoxious. Apart from a few choice ditties, I've always found Christmas carols repulsive. All the Yuletide colors here seemed ineffective and meaningless. The happiness that abounded in this city was a thin, formulaic happiness - the good tidings for all, insincere at best.

That may still be so. Nevertheless, after now having lived and worked in the Big Apple for nearly 4 years, I understand with greater compassion why The Holidays are so long and belabored here.

Everybody needs an outlet. A great lot of us New Yorkers are overworked and underpaid, encroached upon from all sides by human fog, bowled over and under by the sacrifice of convenience, and forced against our wills to keep silent, lest we lower our false shields. Stress is high, health is low, and a sense of true belongingness is just without our reach.

But give New Yorkers a vacation from their toil, and without pause they will take to their barbecues and their parades (give us any excuse, we will masquerade through the streets). All we need is a tiny, allowable excuse, and the hardship of metropolitan life magically evaporates from our brows. People who normally wouldn't give each other the time of day suddenly catch themselves bidding each other a happy holiday season. The populace becomes once again fond for the warm comfort of family and friends, and charity seems at least a little less of a waste of time than usual.

The change isn't a drastic sea change by any means. But it is a noticeable one in a city like this, where every ounce of freedom comes at a hefty price, and most are browbeaten completely out of existence.