I have had my picture taken with about every breed of dog out there. Much larger dogs just sit in front and smile. Yes, their owners tell them to smile, and I guess they do. Several of the littlest dogs have nipped at me, and one has wet on my foot. A pet garter snake slipped through a lad's hands and slithered under the fake snow. That cleared the waiting line faster than I could. There have been cockatoos, crows, parrots, and a cage full of songbirds. Hamsters, mice, rats, and a sleek looking ferret; pigs, frogs, bugs, and even a baby skunk. People laughing at Santa's predicament and shouting scares the animals. Can you guess who pays the price when a scared cat wants to get away? In an effort to consolidate all the pet pictures at one time, the mall where I play Santa on the weekends has a "Paws with Clause" night. Pet owners can bring their pets to sit with me. I watch how the people treat their animal charges. People without kids or family think of their pets as family. Some people I have seen, are quite attached. I am glad animal time only happens occasionally.
Break for a commercial
A rushing hiss can be heard as the tab on a can of soda is pulled back to release the stored gasses. Santa tilts his head backward and takes a long drink. Have you seen that commercial of a person drink a can of soda? A New York City based advertising company asked me to play Santa Claus in a sixty-second
ad.
It was interesting to do a soft drink commercial. Almost as better, was walking around NYC dressed as Santa? I was standing on the street corner next to a big iron pot that was a prop for the commercial. The whole substance of the skit was that on the other corner was a man playing a trumpet, and playing it very badly. I was supposed to go over to him and give him a soft drink. After a couple of hardy swallows, he began playing music with only his mouth, not the trumpet. It sounded like a real instrument. As he turned to thank me, I was gone. The only telltale sign that I was even there was a bell and an iron kettle hanging on tripod. He heard sleigh bells and looked up. Smiling he raised his bottle of soda in a salute. A deep Ho-Ho-Ho could be heard, in the distance.
So here I am standing on a street corner in mid-March waiting for them to set up or the next shoot. As people walked by, I would be ringing a bell and waving at them. They would throw change and dollar bills into my kettle. These people were not actors or people involved in the Commercial. What was also strange was that this was March, not December. I guess they thought nothing of it. After all this was New York City. You have to love that town. Not one person questioned why I was there doing what I was doing. They saw the activity going on around me with the cameras and the people setting up. Nevertheless, they did not ask me why I was doing this. Later after I was standing on another corner did someone stop to talk to me. “Listen Santa,” she says, “I like you, and I got everything I wanted for Christmas. However, I do not want to see you just yet. If you are here, that means winter is starting all over again. In addition, I am tired of winter.” All the snow in the winter of 1993/1994 have many people not wanting to see winter or Christmas again that quick. Parents were watching the commercial from their apartment windows. This actually brought kids down to meet and tell me what they wanted for next Christmas. I sat on the curb in the busiest city in the world and listened to children who had just seen Santa three months ago. It was more questions than an "I want" sessions. Did I work hard delivering all those toys? Was I done in time? What are the reindeers doing now, etc.? I know it was only March, but to me, Christmas is every day. It is not just putting on a suit and doing some ho's. It is an attitude. Anyone can put on a red suit, fake beard, go out there, and talk to the kids. I found that if you act like the character as fully as you can, then it radiates from you. Kids notice that, they can feel it. Kids will become comfortable. They actually believe you are a real person. I even had to stop a homeless person from putting his hands into the pot to retrieve the money in there. We had pizza and coffee inside, so I gave him a couple of pieces, and a cup of hot coffee and sent him on his way. Why I was waiting for the next camera shot to be set up; a staff member brought me a can of Pepsi. “Pepsi,” a woman about 40 years old asks while walking by. “Santa why are drinking Pepsi? I thought Santa only drank Coke. In addition, did you know that the Pepsi drivers are on strike and have been for two years?” Staying in character, I return with, “I knew that, but you see this particular can of soda was made and delivered by a local elves union. Therefore, here is to Elves Union 1234.”
I ran into a father of three kids I visit during the holidays.
I saw him in a store during February.
Every year, I spend a couple of hours with his kids at their home before Christmas.
I bring them gifts and talk about Christmas.
Well, after leaving them this last time, I told them to go and watch for me through the back window while I slipped out the front.
If they watched real close, they may see me fly away in my sleigh.
I put the seed in their minds.
Just to show you how strong an imagination is in a child, they all thought they saw something in the sky. At the time, there was a plane going over with red and green flashing lights. The lights are navigation and to let another aircraft know which way they are flying. Every child said he or she could see the sleigh and reindeer. Moreover, they can see me in the sleigh. At that young age and believing that strongly, then you will see it. That is the wonder of a child’s imagination. As those, other kids get older; it becomes increasingly hard to fool them.
Biker Santa
A few times, I played Santa at a Veterans Hospital in New York. It was fun handing out presents collected by a local Motorcycle Club (ABATE). We would bring useful things like socks, mugs, toilet articles and of course, coffee, and cookies. It was kind of a tough one on me, as I am a vet myself. These people were destined to live out their lives in this hospital are World War 2 era Veterans. They are old and crippled; missing limbs and some had part of their faces gone. Just about anything, the war can do to maim a person. Several I met were so stressed from their experiences, that they were deemed mentally handicap. I tried to be jolly, shake their hands, and talk awhile, as all my little helpers were going around giving out coffee and cookies. The group I am with does not do this once a year; they go to visit these vets every Thursday for a coffee hour. Now that is true giving. I must have seen over a hundred people while I was there. About half of them did not even wake up. We never did make it to the nursing-home next door. There were an estimated 300 more men and women veterans there. Next year will schedule more time I am sure.
Some of these guys were double my age of forty-six. Nevertheless, they were pleased to see Santa Claus. It made me happy to bring a little joy into his or her life.
As I was driving through one of the local towns on the way to the mall to play Santa, I spotted a couple of men on the street corner. They were passing little packages and money to each other. It had to be drugs I thought. Their eyes kept shifting left and right checking out what was going around them as they made the deal. I do not know why I remember them, but this one person stood out. He was tall and lanky, while continually rubbing his nose. His hair was matted, and wearing a long coat. It looked a like a worn trench coat. Boots opened up with the laces all dragging under his feet. Not more than three or four hours later, I am at one of the malls doing Santa Claus. Who should be in the line but the same man I saw standing hours earlier on the street corner. He had a couple of kids in tow with him. He was looking at the sign for the prices of the pictures that the service will take if you desire. They are somewhat high for a large Polaroid picture. However, hey, they are of your kid and Santa.
This man says in a very loud voice making sure everyone could hear. "These prices are way too high for a Polaroid." I said to myself, it is a picture of his two kids. I see the kids, whether they get a picture or not. The camera is just there in case you want one. A picture is not required in order to visit Santa. This person will shell out money hand over fist to buy drugs, but he tries to haggle over the price of a picture. I do not think there is any justice in this world for children.
I think the most fun I had playing Santa has been on the motorcycle Toy Runs that local motorcycle clubs sponsor. Now Toy Runs use a different way to get together in order to raise funds and toys for kids and have a good time doing it. Bikers normally like to party and have a good time. If you think about it, we all like to relax and have fun with other people of good nature. Motorcyclists are no different from anyone else. Bikers get a bad rap from the few that cause problems. It is not the long hair, beards, and a little rebellious that makes them appear as a bad person. Jesus had long hair, a beard and rebelled against injustice and bad authority.
I think that if Jesus came to Earth today he would probably be a biker of sorts. Some say that I masquerade as a biker so the kiddies will not torment me the rest of the year. That does not work as the children see me for who I am, Santa!
These toy runs for kids is their way of saying, "I care what happens to other people." Any of the biker parties or gatherings I have been to, you will see them dig deep if a donation is for someone who is down on his luck.
The logistics for a toy run is much the same no matter where you go. A local biker club and usually a bar in town sponsor it. The bar acts as a gathering place before and after the run. By unspoken and common consent, there is no drinking before the run. The run is advertised for weeks before the actual event day. The route is planned by several people and will start and end at a local bar. I know what you are thinking, bar, drinking, bikers, how can this be something good for kids? All of us, one way or another, have kids who look up to us. Whether our own, nieces and nephews, the child up the street, or kids that we do not even know who are watching us. So we tend to be on best behavior.
The main idea is to start from the bar or gathering place and ride through the surrounding towns and villages. As we pass through each little town and hamlet, we are collecting toys and gifts from people waiting for us along the roads. More bikers will join in as we travel along. I have seen it start with twenty bikes and grow to sixty, by the time we finish.
I am riding at the front of this whole procession dressed in a Santa suit and my bike laden with toys. Stuffed bears tied to the handlebars, trains, and trucks lashed to the sissy bar in back. Baby dolls sitting on the gas tank, its arms waving in the wind as we glide along. I remember on one toy run where we had a pickup following our procession, piled high with new unwrapped toys. People that knew we were coming would wait on the streets with a toy to donate to a needy child. They did not know the children that would get these toys, and neither would we. However, who cares, some child somewhere would be happy for a while. We scheduled these toy runs from September to October. Usually before the December Christmas holiday when people are just thinking about gift giving. Most importantly, they still had money to buy toys for needy children.
The party afterward would be fun too. If you wanted to enjoy the festivities, you had to bring a new unwrapped toy. There was no monetary cover charge, but a toy charge." By the time we all got back to our meeting place, we had collected a small mountain of children's toys. Dolls, games, trucks, baby toys, even clothes were collected along the way. Passenger on the back of the bike had their arms filled to overflowing. Even my wife who sat behind me was carrying several stuffed animals. The kids thought it was great to see Santa ride by on a motorcycle. I would sit on the steps outside the bar and visit with any children who came by. In addition, keeping with the Claus character, I would never drink beer or anything else while in costume. Even if there were no children around to see me! It is hard to believe, but even in September, people are very generous. The local news station was there to film our get together. The next day we would all gather again at a public meeting hall or house and evenly separate the gifts and toys. Then we would invite local charities like Toys for Tots and Hospital Nurses for Kids, and other kid related groups to come and share the bounty. The division would be as equal as we could to all the groups that were invited. Any money that was collected is split among the charitable groups.
