Christmas Morning, Greensboro

Greensboro had not seen snow on Christmas in a very long time, and when it started falling on Christmas Eve 2010 there was only one thing to do. Downtown was empty and quiet in the way a city only gets in the middle of the night, and the snow was still coming down when I got there.

Center City Park had the big Christmas tree standing in the fountain basin, every light still burning under a fresh coat of white. The trees lining the pedestrian walkway had gone completely white, and the lampposts still wore their holiday garland. General Nathanael Greene stood in the snowfall on his pedestal at W. Washington Street, flakes accumulating on his hat and shoulders like he had been out there all night. The O. Henry monument, cast as an open copy of The Gift of the Magi, held a dusting of snow across every word on the page.

The sky had gone amber the way it does when snow reflects the city lights back down. Nobody else was out. It was Christmas morning in Greensboro and the whole place was mine for an hour.