Columbia-Pacifi c i
2C
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2016
The Daily Astorian
To mark this special time of year,
Damian Mulinix traveled both sides of
the Columbia River seeking out holiday
lights. Here are a few he discovered.
George Vetter/For The Daily Astorian
Gary and Melodie Chenevert’s home at 3285 S. Hemlock
St. in Cannon Beach celebrates the Humbugs.
GUEST COLUMN
Ahhh …
Humbug!
Humbugs
actually love
Christmas
By MELODIE
CHENEVERT
For The Daily Astorian
Ebenezer Scrooge, a
miserly curmudgeon who
hated Christmas, said “Bah!
Humbug!” He became famous
and so did that phrase. Today
no one says “humbug” with-
out “bah!”
How would that make you
feel if you were a Humbug?
Sad. That’s how you’d feel
because Humbugs actually
love Christmas. Their favor-
ite carol is “Oh, Hum All Ye
Faithful.”
I fi rst met the Humbugs in
1984. We lived in Kennewick,
Washington, in a house built in
1908. I was trying to think of
a unique way to decorate that
big house when a tiny voice
whispered, “Humbug.” It
made me smile. The problem
was I had never seen a Hum-
bug. No one had. As I won-
dered what they looked like,
that tiny voice said:
“We come in colors like
you do
“But brighter — red and
green and blue.
“Of course we can be tick-
led pink
“And some have polka dots
that blink.”
Every Christmas for the
next 32 years, no matter where
we lived, the Humbugs vis-
ited us. From Washington state
to Gaithersburg, Maryland,
and fi nally, to Cannon Beach.
Right now you can see them at
3285 S. Hemlock St.
Of course, real Humbugs
are not 6-feet tall. They are so
tiny that several can fi t inside
your inner ear. That’s where
they live and work. They have
a big job. They are responsi-
ble for all the humming in the
universe.
Meet the Humbugs
Would you like to meet
them? Here they are:
Humdinger: anything that
makes you tap your toes and
clap your hands.
HoHum: mostly lullabies,
but also sappy love songs.
Humdrum:
every
catchy commercial jingle,
and he wrote the theme for
“Jeopardy.”
Humperdinck: opera snip-
pets and classical outbursts.
Humphrey: a free-range
hummer. He says it’s jazz, but
ng
Wish a i nd
You rs a
You
sometimes we think he just
can’t fi nd the melody.
Humbugs have a great
sense of humor. What’s their
favorite bird? The humming-
bird. Favorite nursery rhyme?
Humpty Dumpty. Favor-
ite author? Ernest Humming-
way. Favorite food? Humburg-
ers and fries. And for dessert?
Humble pies (no upper crust,
just pudding on graham
cracker dust).
The Astoria Column stands illuminated by strings of multi-colored lights at dusk.
Always in rhyme
Since Humbugs know fi rst-
hand how hurtful words can
be, they rarely use words. But
when they do, their words
always have rhythm or rhyme.
Frankly, they fi nd words very
confusing.
This is just part of the list
they gave me:
Like tied and tide or sale
and sail.
Or right and write or pale
and pail.
Like clothes and close or
eight and ate.
Or ant and aunt or weight
and wait.
Like fl ower and fl our or
bear and bare.
Or bowled and bold or hair
and hare.
Humming along
People are always mis-
spelling and mispronouncing
words. Humbugs’ pet peeve
is the word “human.” It is
NOT pronounced “hue-man.”
The correct pronunciation is
“hum-in.”
Every year during the holiday season, a giant, lighted
sea serpent roams downtown Long Beach, Wash.
Seaside’s Christmas tree has large bulb lights that flash
along with prerecorded music that plays from the base.
“We hum in you. It’s what
we do.
“For us you’re merely
transportation
“To every hemisphere and
nation.
“From Planet Earth to
outer space
“Together
we
hum
everyplace!”
They think the world would
be a happier, healthier place if
people did less talking and
more humming. Hum if you
agree.
If you want to see them for
yourself, you’ll have to hurry.
By the end of the year, they’ll
disappear, but they won’t
really be gone. Even though
you won’t be able to see them
again until next Christmas,
you will still be able to hear
them. And whenever you hear
someone hum, they hope you
will smile and say, “Ahhh …
Humbug!”
PS: On Jan. 1, the Hum-
bug House will revert to being
the home of Gary and Melodie
Chenevert and the Lost Art of
Nursing Museum.
The Warren House at 107 N.E. Skipanon Drive in Warrenton features a large lights display that is synchronized with
music broadcasting from the house. The show runs from 4:30 to 10 p.m. nightly until Jan. 1.
Very Merry Christmas
& Happy New Year
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