I know that’s redundant, but it’s more accurate. This Thursday night, December 20, will be a stellar night of television on NPT. Yes, we have the premiere of the new NPT production CHRISTMAS AT BELMONT (2007) with host Melinda Doolittle at 8:00 p.m. It’s an advance look at the festive show from the Schermerhorn before the rest of the nation sees it on Christmas Eve. We’re extremely proud of it (it’s in HD!) and we know you’ll enjoy it.
But before then, at 7:00 p.m., TENNESSEE CROSSROADS gets into the holiday spirit with several Christmas-themed segments, including one with a family in Loretto that celebrates Christmas Eve by playing catch with flaming fabric balls soaked in kerosene. I’m not making that up. It’s like playing extreme hot potato on a football field, with the potatoes on fire. Sure it sounds a little off the wall, but once you watch the segment, you’ll be burning to get into the festive action.
Segment producer Rob Wilds even gets into it, although he opts to toss one and avoids the catching part. Wimp.
The ritual didn’t seem to phase one of my associates here at the station, who claims (I say claims because I don’t believe her) that her family has a New Year’s Eve tradition of placing an anvil on a pile of gunpower that’s rigged to a fuse — on a tree stump. The exploding gunpowder sends the anvil sailing into the sky. Happy New Year!