Bark!
What I can't understand is... doesn't Peter Van Loan earn enough as an MP that he doesn't have to moonlight as a postal worker?
Seriously though, I don't think it's fair to refer to sick bastards plural. 10 letters have been found, out of the million that go out every year, send by 10 thousand volunteer postal workers.
"Your mom sucks dick and your dad is gay." As one annoyed parent commented, "This is SO unfair. I thought we had a deal going. We don't tell the truth about Santa Claus not being real and he doesn't tell the truth about our marriage."
RB - You're right, it's probably just one sick bastard... just because I prefer to think it's all 10,000 doesn't make it so
"...and he doesn't tell the truth about our marriage" Oh shit How I wish I'd thought of that when I was writing the post.
It's not like I'm a postal worker apologist or anything, but this is just generally such a decent gesture. And I imagine a fair percentage of the letters they get are heartrending too.
Somebody better get raked over the coals big time for that. Canada is the home of Santa and we have his postal code to prove it. Even as a kid I never really bought into it but it brought me a lot of fun and nobody should be so-mean spirited as to take that fun away.
RB - You're right, I did an edit just to clarify that it isn't the whole post office that's sick bastards. At least not for this reason. (More on my postal wars to come and you'll see why I was so eager to besmirch them all!)
Bruce - Oh, I bought into Santa Claus Big Time. One xmas eve, when I was about 6, my parents woke me up and said "Santa's here!" My brother and I came to the top of the stairs and looked down and there he was, standing in the doorway - SANTA! Going HO HO HO and everything! My mom said our eyes were like saucers
It was probably one of my dad's drunk buddies, but at age 6 to see someone dressed like Santa in the middle of the night on christmas eve... well, it was one of those *magic* moments. Why take that away from kids?
My parents woke me up so many times as they were frantically, noisily wrapping presents and getting the living room ready I knew for sure Santa wasn’t about to arrive in that mess. Gawd knows they tried to keep me a believer but they weren’t really good at it. There was a great sense of relief when I told they didn’t have to play the charade anymore, and possibly a little disappointment to.
JJ, kids seem quite capable of loving all kinds of mythical or fictional characters without the need to pretend they are real. A 2-year-old might not distinguish between the reality of Big Bird and Grandma but as s/he matures s/he learns to understand the difference while still retaining the love of wonderful, magical fictitious characters without any need to pretend they are real.
I don't come at this with the perspective of someone brought up celebrating Christmas, so I really don't bring any experience to this, but I don't understand why a big exception needs to be made for Santa Claus and Jesus, and not the Easter Bunny and Frosty the Snowman.
By the time a child is old enough to wonder about Santa Claus's reality or fiction, I think they're old enough to learn about Saint Nicholas and how the legends grew from reality.
RB, we are all still expected to believe in Jesus and God long after we are expected to give up on Santa and the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy. Funny, all the ones that give presents, what has god given us lately? And if anybody says GW Bush, I will hunt you down and ...
Bruce - My mother was right into maintaining the legend of Santa, even after I grew up, for gods sake. Over the years, I used to ask her periodically "Who was that guy in the Santa suit anyways?" and she'd look all "don't be absurd" and say "Santa" The last time I asked her, I think was about 6 years ago and she still refused to tell me.
For most parents it probably is a relief to finally abandon the Santa ruse -- I can see it being really inconvenient at times
RB - Oh, I don't think there should be any exceptions -- kids should be allowed to enjoy all their mythical characters. Santa is just the most famous -- I think it has more to do with christmas commercialism than with Santa and other trappings of christmas than being something special above all others.
I don't think they even need to be old enough to question Santa Claus etc before telling them the legends that come from reality -- that makes the myths even better and more interesting.
My problem with this postie thing isn't that it's reality interfering with the kids' myths. It's that it's sort of an ugly kind of reality. Like the easter bunny leaving rotten eggs -- not funny!
Bruce - I'm pretty sure Bush is the only one who thinks he's god's gift...
this being the season of brotherly love and peace on earth and all that, let me say to the Santa cynics out there, with all due respect, shut your festering cakeholes!
Santa exists. He exists in all those people who give anonymous gifts to the food bank, in all those who put a up a tree and lights and try to make the world a little brighter, even if only for a few days. He exists in those people making the effort to bake treats for the potluck office party instead of picking up a box of timbits, in those people stand on the corner ringing bells in subzero weather to raise money to help people in need, and in the hearts of children everywhere.
If you have any doubt that unconditional love exists or that Santa lives in the hearts of small children, get yourself a red suit and cheesy fake beard and go hand out candy canes at a kindergarten some time. It is the most fun you can have doing anything and the most satisfying exeperiece you'll ever have with your clothes on.
I am Spartacus Santa Claus!
And the evil shits who sent those hateful letters to those kids? They are going on the naughty list. If I had my way they'd be worked over with a stocking full of coal and tied to four reindeer heading for four different points on the compass. But Christmas is the season of forgiveness, so I guess I'd settle for JJ's suggestion of a peppering with high velocity dogshit.
That's awesome! "tied to four reindeer heading for four different points on the compass" Yeeoowwww! Our Santa is a vengeful Santa!
Commenting by HaloScan
