{"id":16982,"date":"2021-12-23T20:59:21","date_gmt":"2021-12-24T01:59:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=16982"},"modified":"2022-01-25T11:26:36","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T16:26:36","slug":"new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"single__header\">\n<header class=\"article-header\">\n<h3>New York Post, December 24, 2021<\/h3>\n<h1 class=\"headline headline--single\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/12\/23\/confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/\">Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa<\/a><\/h1>\n<div class=\"article-header__meta\" aria-label=\"Byline\">\n<div class=\"byline meta meta--byline\">\n<div class=\"byline__author\"><a class=\"meta__link\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/12\/23\/confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"flyout-james-bovard\">by James Bovard<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"single__content entry-content m-bottom \">\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--primary-tag\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__content\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In the fall of 1977, I moved to Boston seeking literary triumphs and intellectual stimulation. As a 21-year-old college dropout from the mountains of Virginia who had just sold his first article, I assumed I could easily rack up more sales in the big city. But my submissions struck out everywhere, and the financial wolves were soon howling at my door. After seeking refuge in the Boston Globe\u2019s Help Wanted ads, I found myself front and center at a Santa Claus prep session run by the Western Temporary Services.<\/p>\n<p>After completing the 28-minute training program, I was dispatched to a Filene\u2019s department store in the distant south suburbs, where I met the Boss Lady from Hell. She looked me over, grimaced, snorted and growled: \u201cI hope you\u2019re not like those Santas that damn temp agency sent last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy? What\u2019d they do?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first one was a drunk who would sneak into the bathroom and hit his flask and then drool on kids while slurring the names of his reindeer. The second pranced around like he was Peter Pan. The third was the worst \u2014 he seemed perfectly normal \u2019til he dropped trousers with a hundred kids watching.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I made a note to double-check the belt on the Santa outfit.<\/p>\n<p>Boss Lady greeted me every day with the traditional Boston \u201cHowahya? \u2026 LISTEN!!! I don\u2019t like the way your hair looks under the wig! And I thought I told you to shave that red beard. And don\u2019t be snacking while you\u2019re on the job. Now, get out there and look jolly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I worked as a restaurant Santa, circling the dining room and visiting families as they munched their mediocre cuisine. After getting kids to recite their Christmas gift wish list, I handed each a little bag of goodies. It was holy writ to never promise that a child would receive a specific gift, else Filene\u2019s would suffer the parents\u2019 undying wrath.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--related-post\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading widget-heading widget-heading--underline\"><\/h2>\n<div class=\"story story--i-flex story--i-flex-none-lg\">\n<div class=\"story__image\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"postid-20298439 story__headline headline headline--xs inline-module--related-post__headline\"><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>This was my first and only experience being a minor deity. As I approached, some kids would jump up and down in their seats, and if there were two or more children at the same table, they often had shouting contests.<\/p>\n<p>But not all the children treasured their visit with Santa.<\/p>\n<p>I walked up to one agitated, blond 4-year-old girl hunkered down in her chair and clutching the armrests like a life raft. When I leaned over and asked what she wanted for Christmas, she gritted her teeth: \u201cI want you to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One evening, I saw a dark-eyed, dark-haired, 7-year-old boy standing in the entrance staring at me like he\u2019d seen a ghost. I stopped and gave him the biggest grin of the night. \u201cSanta, you have a weird laugh,\u201d he sputtered as he clung to his mother\u2019s skirt.<\/p>\n<p>The boy had a point. My laugh has always been rambunctious, and it became rowdier when I occasionally slammed down a beer or two before commencing Claus work. It wasn\u2019t my fault that the happy hour at the nearby pub began just before my shift started. (The same laugh that spooked some young Bostonians got me ejected almost 20 years later from the Supreme Court press box.)<\/p>\n<p>Toward the end of my final night on the job, the high-strung assistant restaurant manager \u2014 who had almost fired me the night before after she caught me poaching a piece of apple pie \u2014 signaled to follow her to the soda fountain section of the restaurant, far from the prevailing hubbub, for a special guest. As I readied the jollity, Boss Lady Jr. tapped me on the shoulder: \u201cThe little girl is blind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There sat two of the most tranquil people I had seen the entire holiday season. The mother was resting her left hand lightly on her daughter\u2019s shoulder. The little girl looked to be 6 or 7, with light brown hair and a gentle smile that bloomed across her face when her mom announced, \u201cAnd here comes Santa Claus.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--related-post\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"story story--i-flex story--i-flex-none-lg\">\n<h3 class=\"postid-20240261 story__headline headline headline--xs inline-module--related-post__headline\"><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>I encouraged the girl to touch the fake Santa beard. Unlike some kids, she did not try to yank it off as if she were capturing the enemy\u2019s flag.<\/p>\n<p>I have forgotten what she requested for Christmas, but it was reasonable. She didn\u2019t ask for a pony and a French au pair and every Barbie doll and accessory produced since 1959.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking softly, I described some of the Christmas decorations in the restaurant. She seemed to enjoy my comments, so I rattled on about the meaning of Christmas. I had seen a lot of warmth between parents and children that season, but the bond between this mother and daughter was more precious than any other. There was such a radiance from her mother\u2019s love, I knew that girl would have a wonderful Christmas.<\/p>\n<p>Visiting with that mother and daughter rejuvenated my holiday spirit in a way that a bowl of spiked eggnog never could. In later decades, when the Christmas season sometimes seemed burdensome or hollow, thinking back on that pair has helped put a sparkle back in my eyes. And I count my blessings that I no longer have to don a garish suit, false whiskers and a stuffed pillow to rake in $3.50 an hour frightening children with my laugh.<\/p>\n<p><em>James Bovard is the author of 10 books and a member of the USA Today Board of Contributors.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>From the Wall Street Journal.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>BACKGROUND NOTE: My editor, Kelly Jane Torrance, asked if I had any photos of my Santa Claus gig.\u00a0 No such luck and Filene&#8217;s has long since gone bankrupt, so no chance of accessing any photos that store might have made.\u00a0 In lieu of a 1977 picture, I sent her this photo that my friend Tom Blanton made. New York Post wisely chose instead to go with a very snazzy picture of a Macy&#8217;s Santa Claus (not reposting that because of potential copyright issues). Here&#8217;s the picture Tom Blanton made:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/JPB-Santa-Claus-Raging-Bitch-Tom-Blanton-artwork.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-16983\" src=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/JPB-Santa-Claus-Raging-Bitch-Tom-Blanton-artwork.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/JPB-Santa-Claus-Raging-Bitch-Tom-Blanton-artwork.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/JPB-Santa-Claus-Raging-Bitch-Tom-Blanton-artwork-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/JPB-Santa-Claus-Raging-Bitch-Tom-Blanton-artwork-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Post, December 24, 2021 Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa by James Bovard &nbsp; In the fall of 1977, I moved to Boston seeking literary triumphs and intellectual stimulation. As a 21-year-old college dropout from the mountains of Virginia who had just sold his first article, I assumed I could easily rack up [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[144,2220,509,527,186,782],"class_list":["post-16982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-boston","tag-filenes","tag-humor","tag-memoir","tag-santa-claus","tag-tom-blanton"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I worked as a Filene&#039;s Santa in Boston. Here&#039;s the scoop on spooked kids, my &quot;weird laugh,&quot; &amp; the mother and daughter &amp; the meaning of Xmas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I worked as a Filene&#039;s Santa in Boston. Here&#039;s the scoop on spooked kids, my &quot;weird laugh,&quot; &amp; the mother and daughter &amp; the meaning of Xmas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-24T01:59:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-01-25T16:26:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"549\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jimbovard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"headline\":\"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-24T01:59:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-25T16:26:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1015,\"commentCount\":1,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png\",\"keywords\":[\"boston\",\"Filene's\",\"Humor\",\"Memoir\",\"santa claus\",\"Tom Blanton\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/\",\"name\":\"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa - James Bovard\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-24T01:59:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-01-25T16:26:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"description\":\"I worked as a Filene's Santa in Boston. Here's the scoop on spooked kids, my \\\"weird laugh,\\\" & the mother and daughter & the meaning of Xmas\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/12\\\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":549},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/23\\\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"James Bovard\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\",\"name\":\"Jim\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Jim\"},\"description\":\"Bovard's homepage is at http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \\\"the roving inspector general of the modern state\\\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \\\"one-man truth squad.\\\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism &amp; Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \\\"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\\\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.jimbovard.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/jim.bovard\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/jimbovard\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa - James Bovard","description":"I worked as a Filene's Santa in Boston. Here's the scoop on spooked kids, my \"weird laugh,\" & the mother and daughter & the meaning of Xmas","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa - James Bovard","og_description":"I worked as a Filene's Santa in Boston. Here's the scoop on spooked kids, my \"weird laugh,\" & the mother and daughter & the meaning of Xmas","og_url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/","og_site_name":"James Bovard","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","article_published_time":"2021-12-24T01:59:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-01-25T16:26:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":549,"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jim","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@jimbovard","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"headline":"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa","datePublished":"2021-12-24T01:59:21+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-25T16:26:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/"},"wordCount":1015,"commentCount":1,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png","keywords":["boston","Filene's","Humor","Memoir","santa claus","Tom Blanton"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/","name":"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa - James Bovard","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png","datePublished":"2021-12-24T01:59:21+00:00","dateModified":"2022-01-25T16:26:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f"},"description":"I worked as a Filene's Santa in Boston. Here's the scoop on spooked kids, my \"weird laugh,\" & the mother and daughter & the meaning of Xmas","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/BovardSanta-2-e1577482376557.png","width":1280,"height":549},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/23\/new-york-post-confessions-of-a-one-season-department-store-santa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"New York Post: Confessions of a one-season department-store Santa"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/","name":"James Bovard","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f","name":"Jim","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d95466cfd0934e38803c5035629df727ae4ec1f3f96c6883c05b5c52e2044505?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Jim"},"description":"Bovard's homepage is at http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com He can be contacted at jim@jimbovard.com James Bovard is the author of ten books. The Wall Street Journal called Bovard \"the roving inspector general of the modern state\" and Washington Post columnist George Will called him a \"one-man truth squad.\" His 1994 book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, received the Free Press Association\u2019s Mencken Award as Book of the Year. His Terrorism &amp; Tyranny won the Lysander Spooner \"Best Book on Liberty in 2003\" award. He received the Thomas Szasz Award for Civil Liberties work, awarded by the Center for Independent Thought and the Freedom Fund Award from the Firearms Civil Rights Defense Fund of the National Rifle Association. Bovard\u2019s writings have been publicly denounced by FBI director Louis Freeh, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Postmaster General, and the chiefs of the U.S. International Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as well as by many congressmen and other malcontents.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.jimbovard.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard","https:\/\/x.com\/jimbovard"],"url":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16982"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16985,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16982\/revisions\/16985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}