Sure, some of us will hold out accepting this reality, unwilling to come to grips with the betrayal or simply hedging our bets that admitting there is no Santa will ruin a good thing. Eventually, though, we all succumb to what we think is reason and logic that Santa is folly.
I emphasize the words above because I recently realized that Santa isn’t the myth we’ve come to accept. On the contrary, he is alive, hale and continuing to do wondrous things.
The power of St. Nick was on full display recently in Pinckneyville. I witnessed it first at Stotlar Drug where the jolly fellow sat patiently for hours listening to the hopes and wishes of young children.
They approached him in different ways. Some were focused and comfortable with his presence, heading directly toward him and laying out what they expected him to tote in his bag from the North Pole to their living rooms. Others hovered or circled the perimeter, sizing him up before finally determining he was friend, not foe. But no matter how they chose to get into his arms when they did, his power over them was complete.
An example of this occurred when one boy went over to a Christmas tree after his session with Santa to pick out an ornament for his father that looked like a gun rack. The exchange that followed was precious.
Santa: “What do you have?”
Boy: “It’s for my dad. He likes to hunt.”
Santa: “What does he like to hunt?”
Boy: “Deer.” Now, with frightful eyes open he quickly added, “But not the kind that fly, Santa.”
At the same time this exchange took place, Santa was also riding around town in a fire truck greeting children at their homes. Some of the kids at Stotlar’s let Santa know that they’d already seen him around town, but they needed no explanation of how the man could be in two places at once.
Cynics would say that that it is impossible; no one be in two places at the same time. I am now here to tell them that they are misguided. Santa, as we were told as tots, can be anywhere, at any time.
I left the “showcase” Santa with his blazing red suit and cotton-white beard behind to visit another one. We sat at his kitchen table as Mrs. Clause cleaned the countertop nearby. This Santa wore a sweatshirt and blue jeans. We talked at length about the children whose mothers and/or fathers could not afford to give their kids a Christmas so many of us have come to enjoy.
He told me of how the list that he keeps is not the “naughty or nice” variety we hear in song, but of the growing number of kids who are expecting nothing for Christmas because their families lack financial means.
“I really expected the numbers to increase last year because of the economy, but they didn’t,” Santa said. “This year is a different story. We are up 20-30 percent. People might drive a nice car and have a nice house but they are out of cash. People are hurting.”
Santa told me that, while many of families might be suffering silently, their pain does not go unnoticed. He described a network of groups, organizations and individuals in Pinckneyville that have joined together to ensure that people in need get to enjoy if, but a slice of holiday cheer without being robbed of their dignity.
He talked of the Pinckneyville Optimist Club which has always led the way of gathering the names of children and toys to match them. He admits that rules are sometimes bent to get those names and addresses, but they are always made available.
In addition, the grade school, junior high school, high school and St. Bruno School, collect more names and provide manpower when it comes time to prepare the gifts for delivery.
The churches also pitch in. The Presbyterian Church donates items, St. Paul Church buys for several families (parents included), and the Lutheran Church loads shoeboxes with essentials such as toothpaste, underwear and socks for even more children. The Methodist Men’s Club buys coats for as many as 80 kids.
Businesses also are involved, Cooper B-Line conducted a toy drive, Dr. Grasso’s office served as a toy and donation depository. Dollar General provided the Optimist Club with deep discounts to purchase toys. The employees of Knight Hawk Coal donated more than $12,000 – an amount matched by the company – as well as 1,400 toys that was shared among 10 organizations throughout the region, including Perry County. The list goes on as countless individuals gave cash anonymously to seasonal causes.
A lot of these efforts went on independently for years until the entities got together recently and collaborated.
“We have jelled and grown together,” Santa said. “It might seem like chaos but we have the system down pat.”
Santa said no one involved looks for publicity from this effort. The only reason he agreed to meet with me is that, if it helps bring in more resources to help a needy child, then it is worth the exposure. Let’s hope it helps.
I left the house with a renewed belief that Santa does exist. Of course he is not at the North Pole with a cadre of whistling elves. He doesn’t have reindeer that fly or even a sleigh for that matter. Santa is the spirit of the benevolence that exists in all us.
Merry Christmas!