The concierge
Meet... The girone FAMILY
Chuck Girone, from Bucks County on a wonderful wonderland…
W
hat’s the right word? Wonderment? It’s the look in the children’s faces when they see everything, how nice it all looks. Besides the beautifully decorated Christmas trees, there are life-size candy canes in the halls, giant wooden soldiers in the courtyard. When you’re a kid, that’s just fantastic. There’s the smell of hot chocolate, of the fireplace and evergreens. And nutmeg is a smell I remember, too. My grandkids — they’re three and six — they rode the train. It went around the patio, over the grass, around the pool, behind the cabana. My wife and I rode it with them. During breakfast with Santa, at the base of a huge poinsettia tree, Santa had a conversation with my grandsons, while elves traveled from table to table. The picture taken of my grandsons speaks a thousand words — the looks on their faces. The tree-lighting happened on a beautiful starry night. People were excited, the energy was high. The emotion was building in the courtyard.
Being at Congress Hall is kind of like being in the eye of the storm. It’s very calming to be there, even though all manner of things are occurring around you . To me, it’s calming. It takes you away from your troubles. It’s full of romance at Winter Wonderland. But I can’t talk about that without embarrassing my wife. Being there brings back memories. I can remember a Christmas with our own children, who are grown now, getting everything ready the night before, after they went to bed. And I can remember being a child myself on Christmas, carrying a Douglas Fir down the streets of Philadelphia. We shop for wreaths and tree ornaments from the vendors. Then we sit in those white Adirondack chairs, look out toward the sunset and listen to the sounds of the ocean. It is a busy world. You’re working and there’s a lot of issues that take you away from the enjoyment. But when you see the children so happy, it brings you back to the reason for the season. When we got home from Congress Hall, someone in the family said that Christmas is over, it’s all done until next year. My grandson turned to say, ‘Christmas is not over, pops. It’s always in your heart.’
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