N e w Y e a r 's Ewe
Utliprty
H a il mead!
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V olume 19 ♦ N umber 4 ♦ D ecember 21, 2001
The truth about Santa
A Christmas story
by
O riana G reen
t’s obvious Art Wheeler was bom to play the role of
Santa Claus. At 61, he has the girth and authen
tic white beard and mustache to look the part 365
days a year.
I
And who better to don gay apparel than a
member of our community? But he’s quick to clarify,
“Art is gay; Santa is gay-friendly.”
Wheeler takes his job as the jolly one seriously.
As someone who’s worked with kids much of his
life, he knows how special a personal visit with
Santa is happy and gay
Santa can be.
“I gave it a lot of thought.. .how to help kids
P o r tla n d , O r e g o n
feel good about themselves,” he explains, noting
he used to work as a teachers aide for children
with Down syndrome. “And 1 know sign lan
guage, so 1 can help deaf kids who come to see
Santa.”
So how did he get this gig? Magically, of course!
Twas the night after Thanksgiving just a year
ago, when W heeler detoured through downtown
Portland to take in the spectacle of the city’s
newly lighted Christmas tree. And lo and
behold, “There was a parking spot, so I walked
around a hit, went into Pioneer Place and
watched a Santa at work.”
In need of a job, he instinctively felt he
could “ho, ho, ho” with the best of them. “1
knew I could do it because I spent 19 years as a
free-lance clown.”
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Continued cm Page 41
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