Lady in the grocery store, "Look honey, it's Santa." The cart pushing husband, "I bet you get that a lot. Right?"

It will be here before you know it. No. I am not skipping the Thanksgiving Day festivities but today I'm thinking some about the man in red along with the Mrs., the Claus duo if you will. We are just three weeks away from our two-day kick-off in the photo booth at the Holiday Market sponsored by the Junior League. That's what I am mulling over as we embrace the day God has given to us on this Wednesday, November 2, 2016. Most folks know that we are paid professional performers for many of the events that we do. Not all of them are paid events, but most are. I know folks who think this must be the easiest gig around. My response? Try it and then get back to me. The photos are from last year at the Holiday Market event. I chose it because it demonstrates something that I don't think you can fake. That would be our genuine love for the children. Of all ages, I might add. I participate in several professional Santa Claus related organizations. That includes being in touch with a number of folks who book Santas all over the country and internationally. One lady who has a very large practice put something out the other day that was a little disheartening. Here's what she said, "I wish everyone could remember that the reason we chose to enter into this business is about the kids! It is not about US! Sadly, I am dealing with more and more people who are losing sight of that, and have forgotten the real reason we are all doing this in the first place... THE KIDS! If that is not where your heart is, I pray that you will find your way back to that." I don't use a booking agent but I understand her frustration. I've read some of the petty complaints she has received. I sincerely hope if and when, we, that is, our version of Santa and Mrs. Claus, were to ever lose our love for and focus on the children, well, that we would get out of it altogether, period, end of story. But, that has not happened yet, so, if the Lord gives us the health and strength, we look forward to our 8th year of doing our best to be bearers of joy and love. That would be my prayer. I'll leave you with some lyrics, as sung by one of my all time favorites, the late, great, Eddy Arnold: "A neighbor tipped his hat to me this mornin' ... The landlord even smiled and said good-day ... And I want you to know a stranger said hello ... Christmas can't be far away."

Yeah. I think the same thing at times. What in the world would I have to talk about if I had not become Santa Claus? I'm not in a self-congratulatory mood, but, I actually don't think it would have slowed me down that much. Since to a great extent, I am a self-appointed curmudgeon-at-large, (hopefully, without the ill temperament), who basically scans a whole lot of stuff from a whole lot of sources regarding the past, present, and future. Having done so, I typically then dump out my thoughts and ideas about whatever is on my mind. That means if I wasn't Santa I might even be writing about those who play Santa since my first professional Santa gig was when our boys were very young. I worked for a temporary agency who placed me at a Sears store back in the early 1970's. Yep. I wore the fake beard and fake belly back in those days. And, yes, I have shared in this space about my experiences in that job. In fact, I typically share that story every year around Christmas time. I plan to do so again this year. My point is that regardless of me having become the real Santa, (many call me that), I still have much to say. I think I've more than made the case for that. And, while I never intended to fulfill Paw Paw Mac's prophetic concern over my wordiness, it more or less has taken on a life of its own, "I wonder if that boy will ever come up for air?" You were right Paw Paw, and the beat goes on!

You have to love the conspiracy theorists among us. They keep topics from tanking. One late breaking one has to do with maybe the Clintons doing some kind of reverse strategy by orchestrating this recent FBI reopening of an investigation into classified emails. Or, how about this one? A high-ranking Clinton advocate has advanced the theory that maybe The Donald along with the Russians have joined forces with the FBI to try and bring down Hillary. The one competing for lamest of all is the one claiming the email investigation to be a part of the continuing war on women. I've noticed the mainstream folks are back to a complete recycling of all the stuff they have previously used questioning everything about Trump and his family, his business dealings, and his character. Maybe they are thinking these re-runs will be like some of the TV shows that became much more popular after they were in syndication. Shows like the Honeymooners, Leave it to Beaver, the Twilight Zone, and even the already popular NCIS that became even more popular in reruns. I'm not so sure their strategy will work. However, it may be all they have at this point, other than blasting the FBI for doing whatever it is they are doing right now where before they thought the FBI was wonderful for not pursuing charges against Hillary. No. I am not planning on publishing scorecards in the future. You will just have to do your best to keep up. Thanks for trying. Take care, and never forget that God always has the last say. Always. Amen. ....More later.