Dear George,
Aside
from family and friends, there are tons of other people who are important in
one’s life. Some who come to mind
for myself are Hopalong Cassidy, Jack Benny, John McEnroe, Paul Bunyan,
Brigitte Bardot, Sigmund Freud, Vince Lombardi, and Santa Claus. Hopalong and Freud were influential,
but Santa, of course, outweighs them all.
It’s hard to imagine anyone else being such a source of wonder,
obsession, and adrenaline-rushing pleasure. Like other kids, I went through a period of disbelief around
age six when I began imagining that Santa didn’t really exist. My faith was restored, though, two
decades later when I became a parent myself, and Santa became nearly as big a
presence as he’d been years before.
This is because Katja and I became his local household agents. It was our task to pick up presents at
the toy store, wrap them with a bow, hang the stockings on the mantel, put out
the milk and cookies, set the gifts under the tree at midnight, and read the
bedtime story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Since this ritual occurs simultaneously in millions upon
millions of households, it seems incontrovertible that Santa is a tangible,
consequential force in the world.
Most of all, he epitomizes endless goodness – generosity to a fault,
selflessness, dedication to creating happiness in the world. Because he generates such positive
feelings, I decided to concentrate on collecting Santa Claus ephemera. I already had a batch of vintage Santa
Claus postcards and old magazine ads featuring Santa. Recently I’ve been collecting Santa Claus greeting cards
from the 1940’s and 50’s and beyond.
In celebration of the season, I’ve posted a few of these below. Merry Xmas to all.
Love,
Dave
G-mail Comments
-Phyllis S-S (12-22):
Dave, What a great way to share
your terrific collection. They are charming. I hope you do more
themes. Phyllis
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