Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
That’s Dedication
Devising excessive Christmas light displays may not sound like the wisest thing to if you’re prone to getting seizures, but some are truly touched with the holiday spirit:
The decorating starts on Halloween. The lights switch on the day after Thanksgiving. And come Jan. 1, the electric bill is $800 more than usual.
But Joseph DeGaetano and Robert Sibrizzi say putting up thousands of Christmas lights on their neighboring Bayside homes — and scores of other decorations in the front and back yards, garages and driveways — is well worth the time and money.
“When you just see the little kids coming around and the smiles on their faces, it gives you a nice, warm feeling,” said Sibrizzi, who lives with his partner, DeGaetano in a house next door to DeGaetano’s parents.
Sibrizzi is epileptic, but the condition hardly dampens his holiday spirit.
The 42-year-old loved decorating his parents’ Bronx house when he was growing up, and continued the tradition when he moved to 205th St. in Bayside about a decade ago.
“He does what he wants and goes where he wants,” DeGaetano said. “[Epilepsy] doesn’t really hinder him. If he has a seizure, he just rests a while and goes right back at it.”