By Gary Geyer

First off, you should know I’m Jewish and my then future wife Linda, was Christian.

Linda was from California and had just moved in with me in New York a few months back. It was a beautiful winter in New York and this was to be our first Christmas together. The snow was falling and there were Christmas trees for sale on practically every corner.

Growing up in Brooklyn, my family never had a Christmas tree. We enjoyed the holiday season, liked the idea of Santa Claus and opened presents Christmas morning. But being Jewish, a Christmas tree in a Jewish house was just too much for my mother.

Linda was one of those people who just loved Christmas. Buying a Christmas tree was actually traumatic for her. It wasn’t as simple as just buying a tree, it had to be the “right” tree—a tree that called out to her as if saying, “take me home, please.”

We walked along the streets, stopping at every Christmas tree vendor’s corner and carefully eyed the selections. Linda had definite no’s and possible ‘maybes’ that we had to go back a block or two so that we could take a second look.

Well, after about two hours it happened. “Over here” the seven foot blue spruce called out to her. It was THE perfect tree.

Okay, here is something else you need to know: Since there were trees for sale on practically every corner, the vendors were very competitive and hated to see you leave them without them making a sale. I knew this and I think every New Yorker knew this. Like I said before, Linda was from California.

So we asked the vendor the price of this one-of-a-kind beautiful seven foot blue spruce.

He said thirty dollars.

I said, what are you crazy? I can get the same tree across the street for twenty dollars.

The guy said, alright, I can give it to you for 28.

I said I’m sorry, no way and took Linda’s arm and started to leave. Linda was aghast.

He said wait, 25.

I said 22.

He said 23.

I said done!

As we carried our seven foot beauty back to our apartment, Linda, still in shock, muttered to herself, “Leave it to a Jew to bargain for a Christmas tree.”

Gary Geyer is the Chief Editor of “Let Life In.” Gary and Linda have been married 33 years.