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"Seventy years ago this Christmas I received a pair of roller skates.
"Seventy years ago I became disenchanted with Santa Claus.
"We had one of those rare non-white Christmas seasons. The sidewalks, where
we roller skated, were bare. Ideal you would think, so why the disenchantment? The skates were rusty. Santa brought defective
equipment into our house. Not only that, but he brought other kids whose folks were richer, more and better presents. As
it turned out, those skates were Dee Dee's discards. She got new ones from that charlatan.
"It was enough to make one almost disbelieve in Santa Claus. I would have,
but Arm swore that he heard Santa tromping around on the roof Christmas Eve. He
even heard the reindeer's bells. I was inclined to not believe Arm but the folks backed him up.
"Finally I got straightened out by Pat Cheeley. He flatly came out and said
that Santa was a fake. Hard to believe. At first I denied the validity of Pat's assertion, but a little thinking and reasoning
were enough to convince me to confront my mother with the facts of Santa. The facts of life were to come later. She confirmed
my worse fears and warned me not to tell my siblings.
"Knowing all this, I watched over the years as one after the other of my
brothers and sisters became non-believers. I even perpetuated the Santa myth on my own kids and silently watched as they did the
same thing to their children. I tried to tell Jeb about Santa but he just looks at me like I'm stupid. Dogs are so smart.
"Beware of gifts that are rusty and if you hear tromping around on your roof and
bells ringing, call the cops. It is probably a lost Salvation Army volunteer who has been dipping into the bucket for inner
warmth."
-- from the Stimler/Kampa Independent Newsletter, 8th Edition, Winter 2001
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