Me & Santa Claus

Me & Santa Claus
Originally uploaded by ~*Denise*~

My dad met this Santa at a gas station 1972. Santa had just finished a party and was headed home with a few of his friends. My dad begged him to come to our house, at first the Santa didn't want to go until one of his friends said it was cool, he knew my dad and kinda pushed Santa to go. So... he came, I loved him, dropped to my knees and gasped when I saw him. He refused to take the payment my dad promised him for his visit, he said the look on my face was payment enough.

So fast forward: I'm an adult with children of my own and working in animal control in my home town. The sheriffs department pages me to come rescue a dog that had been hit by a car. By the time I reached the location the dog had passed away. The officer waited for me to show up to the scene. Being that there was no rush at this point, we chatted a bit on the side of this country road we were on. When he found out my name and who my folks were he laughed and said "Ya know I played Santa Claus for your dad one year..." And he told me his story. I was completely blown away that there before me was the best Santa I ever met as a child and the man that is in some of my favorite childhood pictures. I finally got to meet him and thank him. My dad will still light up when he tells the story of how it all came about and my reaction.