chelsea cookWellsir, at last. The year has rolled around to the point all us  kids  look forward to the rest of the year - it is Christmas tomorrow - or maybe the next day.But I know that Christmas is not far-off or things wouldn't be so exciting. We even had good weather. OK, maybe it was cold, wet, grey, rainy and miserable but it is time for Christmas and everything seems to be brighter.  This year, if I am able to physically  stand the strain, I plan on having more fun thanI had the other years.
You see, I get to be Santa at my Salvation Army store. I wear the suit and hat but I have my own beard. This year's beard started in late September as I thought that was time enough for the whiskers to grow to Santa length. It didn't work. I have "maybe" some more than a half Santa but way more  than the picture you see at the top of this post. The kids who talk to Santa do not seem to mind how long  the beard is if they can either talk to Santa and/or get their candy cane.  Oh, the good news is that I have lost so much weight (insert snide giggles here) I have to wear extra padding this year.
Mrs.Claus (aka: Herself) and I spent a long time Monday afternoon cutting and shaping a long piece of sponge rubber which worked out fine.  Now it appears that this year's  Santa will be a round  little elf and hopefully a jolly one.  It would be hard to not be jolly when little kids come up to you with total trust and amazement. Some are afraid of Santa but that is fine. Imagine if you had to go sit on the lap of a very large giant and he talked a little bit odd about things you didn't really understand.  Then there are the slightly more sophisticated children who just want to get the candy cane.  Forget all that Santa hooey, just gimme candy. Before you ask, yes,some of them are quite young. And another yes, some of them are very spoiled.
Then there are the adults . The ones who bother me are the ones who "ask" for a cane.  To them, it is like Santa owes them  something they want because... wellsir, just because.  Some are very friendly and we joke and have fun. Most of those do not take a candy cane IF it is offered. If it is a slow day and there are plenty of canes, Santa may offer one to a deserving adult.  But I discovered a totally separate thing that I judiciously use to amuse myself when things slow down to the point of almost  boredom.  After this happened a time or two it became something I almost looked forward to. My Santa seat  is very near the  front door.  One day I discovered that when I sat very still and people came through the door, all their distracted minds saw was a Santa mannequin.  They come in the store thinking well ahead to why they came in and where in that large store it could b be. Then as they are looking around and up ahead, the mannequin says, "Merry Christmas" and scares the Ho Ho Ho right out of them.  O K, to put things in perspective, Santa says "Merry Christmas" to everybody when he isn't doing kids. It is just more fun when they  say, "I though you were a statue/decoration/not real."
Being Santa is not all just kids and canes.  Other than waking up distracted people there are many  instances of very pleasant human inter-actions. The goodness  of the Santa mystique is so engrained in our culture that it is reasonable to believe that even a dressed up old man has to be good and friendly. We exchange greetings, joke, chat and all this while always smiling. The people leave in a better frame of mind than they came in.  Then there are those young ladies who want to sit on Santa's lap and have their picture taken.  Some things one just have to be endured. (insert sigh here) It is a rough job but someone has to do it..