There is an instinctual human connection between the holidays and going home.
Images of a warm hearth and friendly family faces are as indelible a part of this time of year as reindeer or mistletoe.
How heartwarming it is to hear about a soldier home for Christmas; how sad to hear about a traveler stuck in some airport lobby trapped by a rogue blizzard.
Like salmon in the fall or robins in the spring, regardless of the length or arduous nature of the journey, something in us must return home for the holidays.
That brings us to Head Drive in Millcreek, and five families who are going through a December pilgrimage somewhere just this side of the Twilight Zone.
It began more than three weeks ago, when the neighbors discovered gas levels in their homes at what were being described as explosive levels.
Investigators quickly narrowed the field of suspects to a well drilled behind a nearby church.
Preliminary efforts to dampen the well dampened gas levels in the homes, but not enough to allow the families back.
So more severe measures were then used, including filling the well with salt water to force it to close.
That helped even more, but as the water level fluctuated so did the gas levels.
Investigators continued to shake their heads and five families at the Best Western continued to live out of their suitcases.
As of this writing the families don’t know if they’ll be home for Christmas.
The investigators are beginning to believe that the well might have to be filled with cement.
The Red Cross continues to underwrite the hotel stays because that expense just isn’t covered under homeowner’s insurance.
And while it’s never easy to be booted from your home, the fact that these people have been ousted at this time of year is touching a nerve.
Church members continue to offer gift certificates and other means for food and clothes.
A local restaurant is offering to give all the family members a Christmas Eve dinner, whether they have returned to their houses or not.
We may not know yet exactly how to correct the problem.
The Big Fix might have to run its course in its own time.
But as human beings we know, somewhere at a gut level, that it’s wrong for people to be away from their homes.
Especially at this time of year.