Between the Bridges in Broad Channel
by
Peter J. Mahon
"The Real Magic of Santa Claus"
I chanced upon a talk radio show the other day where the guest was discussing Santa Claus with the host. The guest, a psychologist, was strongly recommending that parents not “...lie to their children about the existence of Santa Claus...” as the children will inevitably come to know the truth as they grow up either from older siblings or friends. The psychologist warned that upon learning the truth, the child “...might feel betrayed and begin to wonder about other lies his or her parents may have told.”
What a bunch of malarkey! Have any of you ever known of a child requiring therapy upon ultimately discovering the secret of Santa Claus? Of course not! Truth be told I have always been of the opinion that the field of psychology is overly populated by individuals who could not cut it in medical school!
Growing up in the 1950’s we lived in an apartment in the quaint Irish Village of Woodside, Queens. Each December a real Christmas tree was set up and decorated in our small living room and every Christmas morning there were gifts under the tree from Santa. We didn’t have a fireplace so the question naturally arose as to how Santa got in the apartment each year. Mom deftly fielded the question by responding, “Jesus, are you really that daft? If he can get down a chimney, how hard do you think it is for him to come through a window or a door?” Made perfect sense to me at the time.
Another benefit of growing up in the 50’s was that we didn’t have to deal with the question of “How is Santa Claus able to be in all those shopping malls at the same time?” Back then malls, as we know them today, simply did not exist. When it was time to talk to Santa, we all went to Manhattan where, for some odd reason, Santa apparently resided at Macy’s in Herald Square. It never dawned on me that we never visited Gimbels until well after New Years.
I also knew that Santa was real because, even when I screwed up, my parents never squealed on me to Santa. One year my Mother was particularly livid with me. I forget what my offense was but it must have been a doozy! Nevertheless, on Christmas morning, there under the tree were my gifts from Santa. Later that day Mom took me aside and said that although she had decided not to advise Santa of my misdeeds and have me placed on his "naughty" list she warned that she would "...beat the living daylights out of me and mail my lifeless body to Santa if I ever similarly offended again!"
I really can’t quite remember when I finally lost the requisite childhood innocence that allows children to truly believe in Santa Claus. I once thought it might have been Christmas Eve, 1968, when I was at recruit training with the Marine Corps on Parris Island and our D.I. wouldn’t allow me to hang a stocking my family had sent me on the end of my bunk. But, lo and behold, on Christmas morning, the D.I. let us sleep late and didn’t scream, yell or throw things at us until well after breakfast. I concluded that even though he didn't drop off any presents, Santa probably did stop by and speak to our D.I. to instill a little bit of the Christmas Spirit!
Many years later, I was asked to "stand in" for Santa Claus and pay a visit to the school children of Broad Channel at P.S. 47. When I asked one young boy sitting on my lap if he had been good during the year, his eyes flew wide open and, after quickly glancing around the room, he looked down at the floor and nervously asked in a low voice, "Why, did my parents say something to you?" I responded by laughing long and hard and assured the lad that he had no reason to worry because he was on my good list.
I guess what I am trying to say is that Santa Claus is truly the "final frontier" of childhood innocence and, as adults who all benefited from Santa's magic as children, we should all strive to keep that magic alive during every Christmas season. If we can help Santa Claus make a child smile, help them forget the real world for even just a little while – then as far as I am concerned, that's the real magic of Santa Claus.
My sincere wishes to each and every one of you for a very Merry Christmas!
Broad Channel - why would anyone want to live anywehere else?
Contact info: email rtbetweenthebridges@
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