Why do so many of us mock belief in Santa Claus?

Is it because he represents the personification of the Christmas Spirit?

It should be no surprise that belief in Santa Claus is relegated to the pre-school age of our population. After all, belief in God has begun to share this trait of mature non-belief.

Yet, not only is Evil a recognized force in our world, but we have no trouble identifying its personal representatives. The problem is we recognize too many messengers of Evil and hardly any ambassadors of the Divine Spirit.

Oh, we have millions of would-be ambassadors of Goodness, but we gaze upon them with a jaundiced eye and see only hypocrisy instead of the spiritual. And this is not just an American problem, as the whole of Europe is facing a crisis of faith in organized religion.

So, my question is, why can we see Evil in all its forms but not recognize Goodness in our midst? Has Goodness escaped our grasp, or have we grown insensitive in our ability to discern its appearance?

I do not think Goodness has abandoned us; it is more likely that we have grown incapable of seeing it. We can blame cable news for dwelling on the Evil in our world, but we are the ones who blindly acquiesce to its constant transmission of hatred and disdain for whatever political point of view they have decided sells more ad space.

As we draw closer to Christmas day, it is time for us to consider our interactions with Goodness and abandon the lies of political agendas.

Here is one of my favorite interactions with Goodness ( AKA Santa Claus) that I experienced back in 1986.

At that time, Eileen and I had two children, Sean and Jeannine.

Sean had been sick with a cold for a few days and could not tolerate the oral application of his much-needed medicine. Our GP was a nice man but so overwhelmed with elderly patients that he hadn’t the time to spend with us to adequately provide an effective care plan for Sean. Eileen and I went home with Sean but were at a loss as to what to do next for Sean.

Well, I was at a loss, not his mother and nurse.

Eileen got on the phone and called a pediatrician who lived in our town.

I forgot to add that it was Christmas Eve.

As soon as Eileen explained to the doctor what had been going on with Sean, he told her to take him to the hospital, where he would meet us.

True to his word, our new doctor was there waiting for us and admitted Sean to the hospital. Sean was placed on an IV drip of the same medication that had previously caused Sean stomach distress. The only problem was that Sean would have to remain in the hospital overnight.

So, Eileen and I did what any responsible parents would do…we lied to Sean and told him Christmas would be the day after next. This was easy to do as no other children in the hospital could pierce our veil of lies and deceit.

We did have one problem that was quickly addressed.

Santa approached Sean’s room, but we quickly yelled and intercepted him. Poor Santa was stunned at our response but completely understood that we lied to our son about Santa not coming for two days and why.

Later that afternoon, as Sean was watching TV, there was a commercial for a Thunder Tank, a toy from one of the superhero shows that Sean liked.

“I hope Santa will bring me that on Christmas.”

When Sean said this, I looked at Eileen, and she shook her head. We then went out of Sean’s room for a consult, and Eileen said she had been to Toys R Us and Childworld, and neither store had a Thunder Tank.

Eileen then recommended that I go out and get Sean a Happy Meal at the local McDonald’s and see if any local toy stores had a Thunder Tank.

I had just gotten paid, left the bulk of my money with Eileen, and took just enough cash to get Sean’s dinner.

Before I got to McDonald’s, I stopped at one of the two toy stores in town, but I didn’t even get out of the car as the store had just closed for the holiday. I proceeded to get the Happy Meal, but I really wasn’t happy at all.

On my way back to the hospital, I passed the second toy store and noticed it was still open. Nevertheless, I had little hope that my quest for a Thunder Tank would prove successful.

When I entered the store, I did something that I very rarely do. Rather than search the shelves on my own, I asked a clerk if they had a Thunder Tank. She replied that they indeed had one, and it was right behind me.

I turned around and felt like Bob Cratchet when he got a raise from Scrooge!

I began to tell the young clerk about Sean and spending Christmas Eve in the hospital, etc.

As I did so, I pulled out my credit card to pay when the dream of my Christmas Present was dashed by Marley’s Ghost as the clerk asserted, “Sorry, sir, but we don’t take credit cards!!!!!”

All I could think of was all the cash waiting for me in the hospital, waiting to be spent, and too far away to go and get it as the store would be closed before my return.

I was devastated.

If you saw Sean’s eyes when he saw that commercial, you would completely understand.

The clerk was upset, too, but could offer no solution.

Just then, Santa Claus appeared.

She was dressed as an elderly woman, the longtime owner of the toy store. She asked what the problem was, and the clerk advised, “This man wants to buy this toy for his son, who is in the hospital, but he only has a credit card.”

(Here comes the Miracle Of Christmas 1986.)

Santa Claus, AKA the woman who owned the toy store, said, “We’ll just send you a bill, and you can pay by check when you get it.”

I said, “What did you say?”

This went back and forth a few times before I understood what was happening.

I made a point of visiting this store every Christmas Eve for several years and would retell this story to anyone who had the misfortune of standing next to me. I was determined to be the apostle of the Christmas Spirit to testify to the Goodness of people and contradict the naysayers who deny the existence of God and His/Her agents, bringing Christmas cheer to a world so desperate for cheering up.

Yes, EJ and Nolan there is a Santa Claus, but sometimes she wears a dress.

Merry Christmas, everyone!