Who was it that dreamed up the idea that Santa would come down the chimney?
First of all, he must have been from down in Australia. Up here, many folks would have a fire going in their fireplace, especially in earlier times. Even if no fire, there is soot to consider. Toys full of soot? Reindeer on the roof? Seems those songwriters made it pretty rough on dear ol’ Santa.
I remember, when I was about six years old, it just seemed rather difficult to me that Santa could even have enough time to pay a visit to all of my first grade classmates, let alone the rest of my town. The world for me was yet to be discovered, as pertaining to size.
I can also remember being suspicious of the handwriting on my gifts from that ol’ fat man in his red suit. Seems I had seen my Dad write a bit like that.
Brother Bobby, eight years old back then, would wake me up about 3 a.m. on Christmas morning. We just let Charles sleep, he’s just a toddler. I had a feeling that Bobby had already figured out the Santa mysteries, but we never discussed it. I had similar ideas myself. After the holidays were over, and the first day back to school, my first grade teacher, Mrs. Carlton, asked the class for a song for all to sing; I raised my hand and said, “Jingle Bells.”
That’s when I found out that, when it’s over, it’s over . . . ’til next year!
“Captain” Hugo Buchanan is a resident of Lady Lake and a frequent contributor to Villages-News.com.
