by Linda Stager

My friends had settled in at the Bucky Tree line in the pre-dawn at Dickens of a Christmas. It was a tradition and they were there, as always, hoping to be first in line before the trees sold out. I stopped by to see them and we were chatting as Bucky came out of the Penn Wells and started across the street. The scene was magical. I raised my camera and snapped this photo, knowing that, without a tripod and in the dark, I wouldn't be able to capture a true rendition of Bucky. What I got instead was better—the essence of Bucky.