life changing experience? i think so.
i dunno, i thought i'd write something here every day, but where does a person find the time? i hv to admit that cleaning animal cages/boxes/filling bowls, emptying bowls and etc. takes up some certain amount of time, but still. anyhow here i am, friday evening and only one story to tell.

the day i met santa. (thanks to kishmo for bringing the subject up in The Enforcers lj, however one is meant to point to that. its just...over there, see?)

It was a day like any other. Just 2 weeks till Christmas, and I had taken my car in to CanTire for an oil change, as i am wont to do on a monthly basis because of the obscene amount of driving i do. they were taking FORever to decide that i needed a new whatnot installed, and then to actually get round to it, so i had done a bit of shopping on the side, you know the kind of day i'm talking about. A flashlight for Jimmy, a key cutter for Graeme, a switchblade for little Nigel, and a crowbar for Sean. Feeling that the spirit of Christmas was about to knock the wind out of my sails entirely, i retired with my loot to the Waiting Room.

To wait. People came, people went. I must explain that, in P'boro, a city of 74K people, the atmosphere is still that of a small town. In the space of 1.5 hours, i had the life histories of 4 people, and loaned my cell phone to 3 others. All in a day's passing here. But I grew weary of the wait. My novel, which I had so cleverly remembered to nick from the car before they launched it half way to the moon, was sagging in my hands. I was tired, and bored, and worried about whether or not there would be enough money left, after the car repairs, to buy the Christmas fowl. I had, in short, had it.

I needn't have worried. The door to the waiting room swung open, and a man of diminutive stature, sporting a respectable tummy, and a fluffy white beard, entered. He was wearing a plaid jacket, which i recognized afterward as an attempt to blend in. There is a courtesy phone available (yes, I know i loaned people my cell phone, but people use the courtesy phone A LOT, so it is sometimes hard to catch it free), and the gentleman headed straight for it. I paid little enough attention, was indeed just leaning my head against the wall and considering the various pros and cons of napping in such an environment. "When what to my wondering eyes should appear..."

It was in fact my ears, but imagine my shock when the man picked up the receiver, dialled a number, waited patiently, and upon receiving a response at the other end, announced quite calmly, "Father David? This is Santa calling."

Nice as you please.

I 'bout dropped my book. Sat bolt upright. Stared like a reindeer in headlights. I listened intently to his half of the conversation, enraptured by this small, cheerful man who was making arrangements as to the time the children would be ready to meet the reindeer next day.

He completed his arrangements, and took a seat, joining the rest of us, but adding a certain je ne sais quoi to the proceedings. He chatted quite merrily about the farm where the 'deer where fattening up for their long night. One of the trucks had come down with a cough, so he had brought it in, as it was needed to haul hay out to the 'deer. He explained that he would have one of the 'deer fawns at the local TSC store next day, and invited all to come and have a look at her. As I left the room to collect my car, which I had assumed now had my Christmas gift under the hood, he looked me straight in the eye and wished me a Very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, followed by the most delightful chuckle one could begin to imagine. I realized that my Christmas present was just that. The presence of the Jolly Old Elf Himself.

I did go to the TSC store next day. Santa recognized me, calling me over and quietly saying "i know you, didn't I spent time with you yesterday at the ...?" He took my hand, wished me Merry again, and turned to spend time with the other kids who had come to see him and his tiny rain deer.