Let there be lights!

So the stock market is crumbling around our ears. Dropping the prime rate to a measly one-half of one percent might not even do the trick, some say.

Layoffs are coming fast and furious.

Cops bust a major cocaine ring at a popular suburban mall.

Gov. Blagojevich continues to sign bills.

Jesse Jackson Jr. has been talking to the feds.

Four-hour commutes. And it's not even officially winter yet.

Our nation's leader is being pelted with footwear.

Let there be lights, we say.

There are myriad stories that catch readers' interest on any given day. And usually the weirder or creepier the story, the more hits you'll see on our Web site.

But on Tuesday, the day we published our holiday lights contest, our online readers took a break from the bad and the weird news and showed a measurable fascination for our celebration of suburban Clark Griswolds.

The story about the winners and the photo gallery that accompanied it occupied two of the five slots in our most read stories on dailyherald.com that day.

In all seriousness, we congratulate the winners: Tom and Wendy Johns of Streamwood (first place); Dale Rohrbach of St. Charles (second place); and the attorney Terry Weppler of Libertyville (third.)

Mixed metaphors abound in the entries we received. Lights and wire sculptures and cutouts and inflatables. Santa, Nativity scenes, toy soldiers, snowmen, winter scenes, Christmas trees.

Each one was a major effort, a labor of love. And each one is way, way over the top.

Tom Johns starts working on his display - as he has for 14 years now - in October. He invests nearly 500 hours in setting it up. There are elves working in Santa's shop, a reindeer training camp and a place for penguins to play. There's a moving train and a toy soldier brigade. No drive-by visit will reveal everything there is to offer.

Johns may have started this for the sake of his wife and daughters, but the spillover effect is undeniable. It cheers up the rest of us, too.

Dale Rohrbach started his display for his kids a quarter century ago. "And more and more people started driving by," he said. "Knowing that they like it inspires me. And I have fun putting everything out."

Terry Weppler started his display, which faces Libertyville's decorated Cook Park, as part of a friendly rivalry with the mayor. But it's become much more than that.

"With the economy the way it is right now people need a little fun in their lives," he said. "I enjoy seeing the kids' faces when they come out."

What wonderful sentiments, all. Readers would seem to indicate it was well worth the effort.

Congratulations for winning our little contest. But more than that, thank you to the winners and other nominees for brightening the spirits of everyone who drives by.