Random memory: Christmas lights

[pne]

I was just reading the most recent RISKS digest and came across one article that said that

In the author's immediate socio-cultural environment, the unpacking, testing, placement, and maintenance of Christmas lights has been mandated to be "man's work." (Women will, reluctantly, direct the placement of lights, since it is an observed fact that a man has all the artistic sensitivity of a Volkswagen. The car, not the automotive designers.)

I thought back to my childhood days and there, too, it was my father who would get out the Christmas lights every year; I think he was the one who placed them on the tree, too, though I’m not quite sure about that. Maintenance (burned-out bulbs, etc.) was his job, too.

In our household, on the other hand, it’s my wife who gets out the Christmas lights and puts them on the tree, and who would repair them if anything went wrong.

In general, she’s the “handy” person around the house: if something involves assembling or drilling or repairing, it’ll be she who does it.