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The first symptoms
of the "Villagitis" are as follows: purchasing a few houses and figurines,
after seeing friends', neighbors' or families' villages. The first village
usually covers a small area under the Christmas tree. At this stage
the illness is easily curable.
Over the years, the village expands, going from a few houses to a few
dozens. The villages are no longer under the Christmas tree; they invade
part of the living room, the dining room, the playroom or even the bedroom.
At this stage, it's hard to stop it; the disease is spreading.
Shopping
compulsively is the next step. We come back home, not with one but,
two, three or even 5 houses. We look for sales, we look for people
who have retired pieces to sell, we even surf the net. We eagerly await
the next club newsletter to see if there are any bargains. When we
go on a trip, we look for all the Christmas shops and wouldn't want to miss
one! At this stage there's no turning back, we are contaminated, "Villagitis"
is here to stay.
The village
takes more and more space in our home. Now we're not talking
about one village but of many villages all over the house. We then
move furniture, we condemn some rooms and it gets to a point where our house
is not big enough. The more audacious ones rent space or even make
deals with merchants to display their very big villages in order to alleviate
their passion.
People
afflicted with "Villagitis" gather together in clubs (support
groups) in hope of finding a possible cure. The illness just gets
worse. At this particular stage, people have dozens of houses,
and tons of figurines, streets, street lamps, trees, cars, ski slopes, etc.
Some even make their own trees, rivers, lakes and mountains…
Although
the sickness is not fatal, some vital organs such as the wallet, the
debit and credit cards are considerably handicapped. The over-charges
can last up to several months. On a positive note, "Villagitis" stimulates
our creativity and tends to bring couples closer together. It is a
known fact that the disease is mostly affecting couples. The reasons
for this phenomenon are still nebulous.
There
is yet no known remedy for this disease. Abstinence only aggravates
the illness. Successive shopping sprees will soothe the afflicted
but only for a short period of time.
As of
now, the desease is confined to Canada and the United States, although we
have heard of a case in Germany that is quite serious.
People
with "Villagitis" are often perceived as crazy. Their response to
this is: "If this is being crazy, let our imagination go wild and lets do
it Big Time".
Jacques Hamel & Penny
Ann Verge
Quebec City,
Canada
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