That's the spirit

I'm not so sure if there was a sense of pride as much as there was a sense of purpose.

December had arrived and the good folks in our neighborhood were already putting up their Christmas decorations almost as soon as the last of the Thanksgiving turkey had been devoured. The 400 block of West 2nd Avenue, I'm pretty sure, was feeling the expectations of having been declared the Best Block in the Lexington Parks and Recreation Department's Light Up The Block contest for the past two consecutive years.

And in those two years, each house was pretty much on its own. Decorate your own house the way you want. That's the way it should be.

And it looked pretty good, too. All nine houses on the block participated, with some of the homes winning individual awards, like most original, or most traditional, or most unique.

It was kind of cool. Car loads of people actually drove down our street to have a look-see.

But what could we do differently this year?

The work is done and the neighbors gather together.

The answer turned out to be both obvious and simple: luminaries. I'm pretty sure that idea evolved during one of the neighborhood porch parties or fire pits. Maybe 100 percent sure. And I'm sure a little wine may have been involved, or perhaps some craft beer. Or both.

Anyway, one of our neighbors, Stacy Sosebee-West, ordered luminaries for the block: about 500 little translucent white bags and battery-operated tea lights. Meanwhile, T.J. Strickland had the sand we needed to put inside the bags so they wouldn't blow away.

Then, on Thursday, came the best part. Late in the afternoon, while there was still some sunlight in the sky, the neighbors came out and got to work. T.J. and Billy West loaded up two wheelbarrows with sand, with a wheelbarrow load for each side of the street.

We somehow organized an assembly-line process on the fly. On our side of the street, Keith Cude opened the folded bags one at a time. I filled each bag with a cup of sand, Stacy put a tea light in each one and then she and Billy lined them up on the sidewalk.

It was pretty much the same across the street with T.J. and his wife, Christie, and their kids, Ellie and Jackson, working the sidewalk, along with Kristi Thornhill and her twin daughters, Sarah and Mary Evann. Sam West, the son of Billy and Stacy, also joined in.

While we were in the process, Ken Coleman served as quality control, checking each luminary, making sure they were lit, properly spaced from one another and in a straight line.

The whole thing evolved into a remarkably efficient operation. In less than 40 minutes, we were done and at least 250 luminaries were in place. And it wasn't even dark yet.

The neighbors gathered to see what they had created. I've written numerous times about how unique this neighborhood is, at least as it is in my mind. But the camaraderie already on this block seemed to notch up another level.

And in a few moments, the sun slipped away and the luminaries took on their own special glow in the twilight. It was impressive. Like a church service. Like Christmas.

Suddenly, this didn't seem like a city-wide competition anymore. We were together as friends and neighbors, working with a purpose, having fun. Hey, we wondered, can they see this block from space?

Or do they see the spirit, joy and affection among us instead?

Like the way it should be. 

"Our house is a very, very, very fine house..."