Dr. Dina Vendetti is the president of the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce.
Anyone who knows me understands that I absolutely love living in central Delaware. I find it a very easy place to feel at home. It’s not difficult to get to know people here — and it’s not difficult to be known here. There’s just something about it that draws people in. I had an experience recently that illustrates that sentiment perfectly.
On a short trip to Pennsylvania, I purchased a little silver decorative bucket with a front panel that said, “Freshly Cut Mistletoe 25 cents.” Until I moved to Delaware, I didn’t know that mistletoe grew on other trees and that you can see the giant balls of it when the leaves fall in the winter. I didn’t know that you actually had to climb a tree to retrieve it. I certainly didn’t know that some people “hunt” it by shooting it down. I am intrigued by the whole idea — it’s one of those unique Delaware things that I find so fascinating.
The following weekend, I set out to purchase some freshly cut mistletoe to put in my little bucket. I went to all the places I thought would be most likely to carry it, but no one had it. And every person I asked told me the exact same thing: “Oh, honey, you got to get you a BB gun!”
I finally called a produce stand in Sussex County that turns their place into a Christmas shop at this time of the year. They said they had it, and I was thrilled! My friend and I jumped into my car and drove there almost immediately. When we went inside, I didn’t see any. A gentleman came in who worked there, and I said, “Hey — I called a little while ago … ” and before I could finish, he replied, “Are you the lady that called about the mistletoe?” “Yes!”
At this point, he asked if I could wait about 10 minutes — which I was happy to do as we spent the time looking around his Christmas shop. He immediately dropped what he was doing, picked up some pruners, grabbed a ladder, jumped in his truck and sped off into the gusts of a very windy Delaware day.
He came back a little windblown but with arms laden with beautiful, fresh mistletoe full of life and berries! What a sight! We agreed on a price, and I was on my way. I’m not sure in that instance who was more excited — the giver or the receiver!
All the way home, I pondered what had just happened, and I could hardly wrap my mind around the idea that someone would drop everything and go climb a tree for me — especially in that wind — just to get the freshly cut mistletoe I’d asked about.
As my friend and I headed north, I turned to her and said, “What you’ve just experienced is a real slice of Delaware life. You always wonder why I love it here so much. Well, that’s it. That’s the kind of thing that happens in Delaware.”
It is my hope that, during the holidays and long after, Delaware continues to be the kind of place that draws people in, that we continue to find ways to be kind and that we live, work and play in all the ways that make us a true community. During this season of giving, let’s pledge to be the people who would do something like that for each other and continue the legacy of what Delaware life is like.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
