LET THE SEASON BEGIN

Two nights ago I played Santa in a home for developmentally disabled adults. It was my first foray into a group home as Santa, and I enjoyed myself. The residents love Santa, and he loved them back. Each person was given a gift. Santa got the biggest gift of all: the enjoyment of seeing them happy.

Actually, the agency that sponsors these homes and supports these wonderful people is the real Santa. The agency is of course: AHRC Suffolk Chapter, http://www.ahrcsuffolk.org based in Bohemia, NY. It fell to me to go out and give the spirit of giving to those in need. These are my people: humble, innocent and loving. In the course of normal events, they care not who you are or what you are, as long as you can see them, and acknowledge their being. I see their souls in their eyes and there is a light that shines behind those eyes, fueled from the goodness of their hearts.

Tonight, I plan to go off to play Santa once more, this time at a dance for all the group homes within the organization. Some 400 residents will be present, will have their picture taken with Santa, and will walk away happy, seeing him. It is not always a happy moment for Santa! Sometimes the residents don’t ask for anything for themselves. Sometimes there is urgency in their voices as they ask for help in making their mother or father feel better, to get them out of their sick beds in the hospital! They ask Santa to promise to make them better, to make them live. How does Santa do that?

I spite of the hard requests being made of Santa, I would not miss this night for all the money in the world. This is the beginning of Christmas for me. So as I leave the dance tonight, I will think to myself: “Let the season begin.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY POLISH BROTHER-IN-LAW: TOM! Tom is the author of the famous Polish ditty: “Buy Me A Pork Chop!