Fresh Cut Christmas Trees

My father waited until the day before Christmas Eve to search for the right Christmas tree for our home, just like Ralphie's family in the movie classic “A Christmas Story”.  We piled into the car and headed for the corner that sold trees.  Dim lights barely lit the few evergreens left on the lot.  Choosing one that seemed less brittle, we placed its base in the trunk with the top branches sticking out about three feet and headed home, leaving a trail of needles.  My father would not let the tree be trimmed or any other decorations put up until Christmas Eve.
                Today we buy our tree right after Thanksgiving in order to ensure it stays fresh and does not lose a ton of needles.  The Pasadena tree lots make a fresh cut in the base of the tree, drill a hole for stability, cut off excess branches, ask the dimensions of your tree stand, wrap it in string, and place it in the trunk or on top of the car.  No hassle.
                We retrieved our old tree stand out of the attic and discovered that the stand’s dimensions did not fit our newly purchased Christmas tree.   Our circular saw, with the safety guard held open, flew into action by cutting off several more limbs and a bit more of the circumference.  Sticky sap flew onto the porch floor, the living room windows, and the door handle. Pushing the stand onto the tree in its prone position, we saw that the trunk was still too large and the stand was stuck on the tree.  My husband pulled hard but the stand remained in place.  A screwdriver was needed.  After dismantling the stand, more of the tree base was hacked off.  Carrying the tree inside we placed it in the stand, but it missed the nail at the bottom.  Back outside, the hole in the tree was made larger to insure the bottom of the tree would lay flat.  The tree was brought inside again and placed in the stand.  We straightened the tree to make sure it looked perfect from all angles and that its best side could be seen.  My husband gave it a gentle push.  It wobbled, but not enough to worry about.  Pouring water in the stand, we decided to let the branches fall before trimming the tree.
                 After several hours, I checked and declared the tree ready.  However, I noticed a puddle of water underneath the tree, and thought I must have spilled the water.  Crawling under the tree, I noticed a small drip hanging onto the bottom of the stand.  I yelled the good news to my husband, “The tree stand has decided to leak; at least the tree is not decorated.”