Redtree Times

2011

Everything perishes except the world itself and its keepers…But while life lasts everything on earth has its use. The wise seek ways to be helpful to the world, for the helpful ones are sure to live again.

― L. Frank Baum, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus

I was going to start today’s blog with an old Phyllis Diller joke– betcha didn’t see that one coming!— about her husband, Fang:

Fang is the cheapest man alive. On Christmas Eve, he puts the kids to bed, fires one shot, and tells them Santa has committed suicide.

I decided against using it as the opening because I didn’t think it would be appropriate. As you can see, that didn’t stop me from still using it. It made me laugh and made me a little nostalgic for all those variety show Christmas specials that were ubiquitous on TV in the 1960’s.

Of course, we all know Santa would never do such a thing. He’s a man on a mission, a man with a purpose, which is, as good ol’ L. Frank Baum further points out in his chronicle of Santa Claus:

Every man has his mission, which is to leave the world better, in some way, than he found it.

And for Santa, his way of making the world a better place is to try to protect the innocence of children before the world overtakes them. As Baum once again states:

Childhood is the time of man’s greatest content. ‘Tis during these years of innocent pleasure that the little ones are most free from care. […] Their joy is in being alive, and they do not stop to think. In after-years the doom of mankind overtakes them, and they find they must struggle and worry, work and fret, to gain the wealth that is so dear to the hearts of men.

But this year is going to be a tough slog for Santa tonight. It’s early Christmas Eve morning and it’s a windy 0° outside. Mind numbingly cold. It’s part of the job, I suppose. And most likely the reason he earned that Saint title. Because, again, as Baum added:

It is possible for any man, by good deeds, to enshrine himself as a Saint in the hearts of the people.

Let’s try to keep that Santa spirit alive and burning through the coldness that exists both in the weather outside and in the hearts of those who have lost the innocence of childhood. Have a good Christmas Eve.

To warm you up a bit, here’s a good early performance of Bruce’s version of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, from Houston in 1978.