Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Festivus to everyone! When I worked as a Santa Claus in Boston in 1977, I met a lot of zany characters including a Boss from Hell who would tell me “go out there & look jolly DAMMIT!” But the most vivid memory is of a mother and daughter who showed me what Christmas was all about. Thinking of those two helps revive my holiday spirit better than an entire bowl of spiked egg nog. For the Future of Freedom Foundation
Here’s the audio version of the podcast – you can listen or download by clicking below –
I wrote about my Santa gig for the Wall Street Journal in 2011; here’s a link to a non-paywall version of that piece.
If you enjoy this story, you might get a kick out of my memoir, Public Policy Hooligan.
And here’s a hoot of an artist recreation of my experience by Tom Blanton, mastermind of the Project for a New American Revolution.
My Raging Bitch Christmas by Tom Blanton
Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year, Jim. The part about the
little blind girl sounds like a magic yuletide moment. That sounds
much more pleasant than the moment captured in that crazy
picture above.
Thanks very much, Tom – and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you! I hope 2019 brings you only pleasant surprises.
That’s a great picture you made – I just switched the ‘featured photo’ so that it will show up when this riff is reposted on social media. Your creation is more eye-catching than a geezer when a blurry cigar and a dubious beer can.