It didn’t take long for Christmas decorations to appear

It seemed to take but a moment as Halloween ended for the transformation to the Christmas season to begin. Thanksgiving and Christmas feel these days as if they are rolled into one, and you can’t help but be impressed by the scores of dazzling Christmas trees and other decorations to be found in large retail outlets.

Time was when our boys would pile into the station wagon and we’d head out to a field to cut down our Christmas tree. Now so many artificial trees — all pre-lit — take but one shake to pop into full size, ready to be set up before the big picture window.

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It’s not just the decorations that signal the start of the yuletide season. Touring holiday concerts are heading to Erie in the coming days.

Motown Christmas, featuring the Temptations, the Miracles and the Contours,” is set for Nov. 19 at the Warner Theatre, followed on Dec. 8 by Kenny G’s Christmas Show.

● Speaking of the Warner and great music, the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra’s season is off to a great start. The first pops concert, featuring works by Beethoven, quickly sold out, and on Saturday, world-renowned organist Cameron Carpenter was scheduled to play the Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ at the Phil’s opening symphonic concert.

I can’t remember a time when both the pops and symphonic series generated so much excitement around town.

● Now that the election is finally over, backers of defeated candidates are studying what went wrong. I have a feeling that U.S. Senator-elect John Fetterman is fortunate that he ran against Dr. Mehmet Oz and not Dave McCormick, who was narrowly beaten in the spring primary by Oz. McCormick would have been a major challenge for Fetterman, I think.

But Fetterman, who suffered a serious stroke just after the spring primary, showed real grit in the home stretch. He overcame a troubled debate performance against Oz that might have derailed a lesser candidate.

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It’s always questionable how much influence an endorsement can have during a political race, but I’ll bet it stung Oz when Oprah Winfrey said she would have voted for Fetterman. Oz had been a regular on her TV talk show for years.

Once again, pollsters ended up with egg on their faces, as many races turned out different from what had been predicted.

● The closing of a newspaper is always sad, but the end of the Titusville Herald after 157 years proved to be an especially difficult blow for that community. The death in January of longtime Herald publisher Mike Sample, who enthusiastically pitched in to help with any job at the paper — including shoveling the snow so that the trucks could get out — hastened the end of the Herald.

Mike Sample, who learned about the newspaper business from his father, George Sample, longtime publisher of the Corry Journal, clearly loved the business. Mike was only 55 when he died.

● Aaron Bois, son of former Erie Lions hockey great Dick Bois, is trying to assemble a scrapbook for his dad from his years with the popular team in the early 1970s. I tried to share some of the great memories I had of the team, which I covered as a teenager, but there must be other people affiliated with the Lions who would have special memories from that era. Send a note to Aaron at ajmbois@gmail.com.

● Erie’s Passle Helminski attracted national attention when she recently competed in the New York Marathon. Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and other publications profiled Helminski, 68, who fulfilled a dream she has had for three decades.

She was training for the 1993 marathon when she was assaulted by a man who struck her so hard that the blow caused a tear in her left carotid artery. Within 12 hours, Passle suffered a stroke that left her debilitated. She never gave up her dream of running in a major marathon, however, and recently returned to New York. Her amazing comeback story has been inspiring millions.

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● The work on State Street, leading north from the intersection of the Bayfront Parkway down to Dobbins Landing, is finally finished. I was a little concerned that the parking spaces on the sides of the street were disappearing, but they’re back. And the road is wider and more beautiful.

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I wish I could say the same for the plot of land on East Dobbins Landing where Steve and Stephanie Wood’s Bayfront Gallery stood for many years. The property, owned by the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority, was cleared to attract investors. That was more than two years ago, and the vacant lot sits empty. It’s a shame because the popular Bayfront Gallery had so many great exhibits.

● The Rev. Mike DeMartinis is a busy man these days. The play, “Into the Woods,” he directed at Cathedral Prep was a big hit, but DeMartinis had to hustle down to St. Patrick Catholic Church where he recently succeeded Monsignor Henry Kriegel as pastor. DeMartinis teaches a full load of classes and has celebrated the popular Teen Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church for nearly two decades. There’s no rest in sight.

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Kevin Cuneo can be reached at kevin.cuneo1844@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kevin Cuneo: Christmas décor already out, Passle Helminski runs marathon