Trees wait for good homes in a drugstore parking lot. L. and I were pretty surprised to see trees selling for upwards of $10/foot; some were going for as much as $140 or more and not because they were 14 feet tall. I guess you pay a premium to get a nice tree hauled all the way into the city. At right is a cool netting contraption that allows the tree seller to “wrap” your tree in a plastic net to make it easier to tie to the top of your car. You just shove the tree through the hole tip-first and it comes out the other end tightly sheathed in a tube of netting. Cool.

At the lot where M. bought her tree I learned from the lone salesman that he lives in the trailer that was parked near the trees and has to stay there 24/7 for the month of December, more or less. He's sort of a combined salesman and security guard. All the trees are tagged with a number by his employer and if he can't account for every one at the end of the season, it comes out of his check. For this work he hopes to make $1600-$1800. I'm not sure why it's variable; perhaps he gets a commission on what he sells.

That makes me sad. Why should a guy who basically spends a month freezing his arse off in the cold make less than $2k for the pleasure, while lots of other people in that neighborhood are going to make that and more for sitting on their arses in nice, warm, offices for only 40-hours/week? It just doesn't seem right...

M. did get a good tree, though, and when she paid the man the tree didn't really seem so expensive anymore.