I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma.
I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her
on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus,"
she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that
day because I knew she would be straight with me.
I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always
went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her
"world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because
Grandma said so. It had to be true.
Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told
her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she
snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going
around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your
coat, and let's go." Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked.
I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where"
turned out to be Kirby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a
little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors,
Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take
this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll
wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kirby’s.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but
never had I shopped for anything all by myself.
The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish
their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there,
confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who
on earth to buy it for.
I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the
kids at school, the people who went to my church. I was just about
thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with
bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's
grade-two class.
Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out
to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the
teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker
didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the
ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a
coat!
I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real
warm, and he would like that.
"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter
asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down.
"Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby." The nice lady smiled at
me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I
didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and
wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of
the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and
ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it. Grandma said
that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby
Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever
officially, one of Santa's helpers.
Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept
noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave
me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."
I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down
on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes
and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the
front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.
Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering,
beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that
those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they
were ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.

May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and
FRIENDS that care...
And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

Steve R-6416

HO HO HO