Santa provokes Christmas memories

As I put the finishing touches on my Christmas wreath, I started thinking how many Christmases I have been through - more than 90! - and about the ones that stand out from the rest.

Hmmm ... let's see, how about the Christmas when I decided Santa Claus really didn't exist, and did not really give me all the presents I found under the tree?

I think that was the day my mother took me on the trolley all the way downtown to the big department stores (hey, there were no malls in those days!)

I had already been starting to get suspicious about Santa - how could he be at Wanamaker's department store, and then over at Strawbridge's, too, faster than we could walk there? And though he kind of looked the same at both stores - red suit and beard and all, he didn't sound the same. That "Ho ho ho" was definitely not the same at both places!

When we finished lunch and were finally in the store, we found Santa seated up on his "throne." I thought he sounded funny, but I got in line to be called upon to give him my list. When my turn finally came, I hopped up on his knee and started in.

"Santa, I want some ice skates, a Parcheesi game, and some books."

Then I realized something was very wrong. Santa smelled strongly of cheap cigars and garlic, things we never had at our house. And he sounded different, too. I slid off his lap and hurried back to my mother. "He isn't real - he smells stinky and awful!"

Mother said, "Well, I guess you're old enough to know. Santa isn't real, it is a different man dressed up in each store. Daddy and I give the presents each year."

She really laid it on me - but boy, was I glad my presents wouldn't smell - and, I was proud that I was old enough to know a secret! "OK," I said, "I won't tell Kitty," (my little sister) "she's too young to know our grown-up secret."

Well, I haven't sat on any laps lately, but I wonder: had that Santa used some Aqua Velva, would it have helped? I might still believe in him.

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Do you remember how many years it's been since you wrote what was to have been your Last Will and Testament?

The years often bring changing circumstances into our lives which can make your present Will not representative of your final wishes. Some changes may be: death of a spouse, remarriage, changes in health status of your spouse or yourself, moving to a different state (each state has different laws), the purchase or sale of property in another state, and new tax regulations passed since your will was written. All of these are reasons to review your current will.

If you are in doubt about how such changes would affect you, write to Administration of Aging, Department of Health and Human Services, Room 4700, 330 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC, 20201. You will receive a free, easy to read and understand brochure on how to plan an estate and make a will.

A good part of everyone's Christmas every year or so should be Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." This year's presentation at the University of West Florida (UWF) includes community adults and children as well as UWF students. You know you'll enjoy Scrooge and Tiny Tim as they make the real meaning of the holiday clear to all.

Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 2:30 p.m.. Tickets for seniors are $12. Call 857-6285 for tickets and information.

Members of Ballet Pensacola will present performances this weekend of "Nutcracker Sweet," an abbreviated version of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker Suite" at the Pensacola Cultural Center. For tickets for this event, call 432-2042.

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Fact: One human brain cell can hold five times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Now, where in the world is my Christmas card list?

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas - see you next week!