Welcome one and all. It's good to see you here on this
Thursday, October 22, 2015. We did our first non-traditional Santa appearance last Saturday at our ladies craft show at our local Church. We had a great time and made many photos with children of all ages. The photos were self shot with smart phones, tablets, or cameras and were free of charge. Those who wished to could make a voluntary donation to the Church mission efforts. The photo is of the wife and I. She was one of the workers at the craft show. That photo was posted on Facebook and garnered many comments and likes. To the person who asked if the lady sitting on my lap was my daughter I felt compelled to answer. Nearly 51 years ago her parents handed her off to me and I've always joked about how I finished raising her. I'm sure she has a different version of how all that went and most likely a completely different idea who was in the most need of instruction. As for the inference of her looking young and me not so much, what would you expect? After all I am portraying a character that depending on which historical thread you follow dates back many centuries. I hope that clarifies any outstanding questions and oh by the way, don't think adding LOL to something makes it okay. I am joking about that. And, if you have any suspicions about whether I am really joking, well here's my LOL to prove my sincerity.
Here's a little story posted on one of
the Santa forums. It is about a personal experience of one of my
fellow bearded Santas. ~ "I had stopped at Walmart to get some snacks
for the road. I noticed this lady was staring at me on the same aisle
I was on. No biggie. I get that a lot since I look like Santa Claus.
A little later in a different aisle, here she comes again...STARING!
And she's an old lady, old enough to be my Mom, but she's pretty spry
for her age. So I finish up my shopping and head to the check out
line. Of course this same lady was ahead of me, and starts staring
again. Now this is getting Awkward! So I start playing with my
phone so I don't have to look at her. Finally she says 'I want
to apologize for staring at you, but you look just like my son who
just passed away.' I felt really bad after that and gave her my
condolences. She says 'thank you...but I have a favor to ask. I
understand if you don't want to. Can you give me a hug and say 'bye
mama' to me?' Inside I squirmed a bit, but me being Santa and
all and I just graduated from the best Santa School in the world the
night before, so I went ahead and did it. She smiles, thanks me, and
leaves. The cashier rings up my stuff and the total comes out to
$100.87. I knew something wasn't right, it should have been like
$40.00 or so. The girl tells me that my total was included with my
mom's. I bellow, 'What?!!!' She said, 'Your mom said
you were paying for her few items along with your things. I told her
that the woman was most definitely NOT my mom. She said, well I saw
you hug her and heard you call her mama. I flew out of the store
looking for this witch, seeking justice! I see her loading up her
car! She saw me and jumped in her car, I got to her as she was
putting her leg in, and I started pulling her leg... JUST LIKE I'M
PULLING YOURS!!!! Hope you all are having a wonderful day! Merry
Christmas kids!'
Yes. That little funny story took me in at first. Since it did that to me I thought I would allow some of you to participate as well. I think he hit a good lick or two. Pretty clever. And, I will confess that I do like clever. Speaking of clever, have you heard about these people who have what is believed to be an innate ability to recognize faces? They are called a 'super recognizer' because they can identify people's faces without regard to their age or other changes in their appearance. Less than 2% of people have this unusual recall. They do not have a photographic memory, just an uncanny ability to recognize faces regardless of race, background, or age. Astoundingly so. They are currently using some of these people in law enforcement. Having looked at photographs of wanted people they can spot them anytime they see them, on the street, or in other places. The experts have not been able to figure out how this works. There have been many arrests made because of this ability. One police officer in London is thought of as having one of the best minds with regards to this facial recognition. However, he cannot remember the shopping list his wife gives him. Baffling. He beats the computer nearly every time because the computer doesn't seem to be able to uncover the face if it is disguised. Remarkable if you ask me. I admire this gift but I also am confident that I do not have it. In fact, I see people all the time that I should know but I have to really think about it. Sometimes it comes to me a couple of days after we've had a pleasant exchange. They do have an online test for those who think they might be blessed with this ability. I see no reason for me to participate. God recognizes us all and cares for each one and that's good enough for me. I can live with that.
Amen. ......More later.
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