I
'I
I
1
lot like Christmas
Ryleanne Lally
Bf The Print
■hopping centers come alive
Mpiped-in music, lights and
Il tots with sparkles in their
lies ¡and excitment in their
Bees.
Kook, there’s Santa,”
Shouts one child and breaks
■way from Mom’s grip to join
Rhe mob that has collected
Bnd a small, meek, little
Bow
«Looking at this poor soul
Jessed in out-of-style threads,
■d hair all over his face, one
can only feel pity for him. But
He him with an army of kids
Bund him, the picture
Binges: now one looks at him
Bienvy.
Kh, but to .be loved by so
By kids ts worth more than
W
Bio discrimination
Wd. The line for-
want to do much.”
His obvious dislike of the job,
however, did not hinder his
magical affect on the kids who
came to see him.
“The whole idea of Christ
mas is so plastic,” said the
unhappy Saint Nick. “I’m on
strike right now and needed
some extra money for the
holidays.”
“I enjoy the kids, but I hate
the walking,” said Santa, who
then turned to greet a line of
beaming followers ranging in
ages from 2 to22.
Santa turns from the group
and looks down the crowded
sidewalk
adorned
with
twinkling lights and bobbing
heads. Following his gaze, one
can see what disappoints this
otherwise jolly symbol.
Looking to the stars, one
thinks about the historic event
that happened so many years
ago in a tiny town. The birth of
a saviour, and the people who
went to praise him. One won
ders if they saw the same stars
people see now. I doubt it, I’ve
been staring at a tree.
Santa loves winos, too
nf the mission in-
Blacks,
whites,
Bisplaced Indians
jseBespite their dif-
■these men share a
Ed: poverty,
pke in line about not
Ria good meal since
■giving. Beneath
Hater is the ironic
Bn’tajoke at all.
Kt room of the
m Mission is not
■oines, but these
Were to enjoy the
mables, reminiscent
|n lining hall, seat
Hgry men each.
Ihis group sit down
Bgoing through a
Meet generous por-
Birkey, dressing,
■lad and bread. The
■are is served up on
Kes. The silverware is
By Kelly Laughlin
Of The Print
|i$.
biBjrmur words of
Hhungrily chowing
By don’t have to
■fly, it’s just that
Kiting outside the.
Etake their places at
Bis heard among the
fci Bellies full, they
■reanimated, more
pey become more
■ore dinner, Davis
Btight-lipped, even
^■peaks freely,
■people seem like
■only ones who care
Be live or die,” said
E holidays are the
De of the year for
Ed looking ahead to
Rs.from the table,
Jhrouc: the doors
■■the Harbor Light
the weary men
■side in an unorderly
■n, past the steam
Hjmanhole, back
Hside Street.
any
prestigious
position
around. To be able to bring
smiles to those little faces by
just standing near is enough to
make anyone drop his whole
life and run. Or is it?
•The old “Santa in the mall” is
a familar sight. Adults saw it as
kids, and now their kids are
seeing it. The old tradition of
sitting on Santa’s knee is as well
known as . . . well . . .Christ
mas trees. Every year at. this
time, little fat men in red suits
station themselves in public
gathering places and await the
arrival of their admirers. They
do not have to wait very long.
The mall Santa’s trademark
is a little house set somewhere
in the mall. It is not hard to
find, because there is usually a
large crowd of tots around it.
Santa sits in that house by the
hour and takes the requests of
hundreds of children.
Some think the job of part-
time Santa would be enjoyable
and fun. Some do not.
One Santa, who refused to
identify himself, says the job is
great for people who “do not
I
Snesday, Dec. 6, 1978
Playing Santa in Portland’s
Old Town is a far Cry from the
day to day activities of a shop
ping center or mall-type San
ta. For Daniel Ray, the change
is welcome.
“I like bizarreness,” Ray, a
student at Portland State
University, said. He certainly
gets his share of it in Old Town.
There, in red suit and
carefully powdered face, he
encounters nearly every walk
of life, from the down and
outers, to street winos and
struggling merchants. Ray ad
mittedly came in with a fair
amount of pretension and fear,
but that was . dissolved im
mediately.
“These are very real people
out here: Fear is one emotion
you have to get rid of, if you
wnat to relate to them. When I
started,' I was scared to death.
Now I try to get down to their
level, and not be afraid to hug
them and show them that San
ta cares for them, too,” he said.
Just as readily though, Ray
finds the not-so-socialable
types as well. Once, a tin can
was tossed at the jolly old elf.
He merely replied, “you had
better not do that again, or you
won’t get anything for Christ
mas.”
“Santa was at the scene of a
potential mugging. A “ho-ho-
ho” and “What would you like
for Christmas?” .was all it took
to send the mugger racing from
the scene.
There’s a certain amount of
presense and respect that goes
along with becoming this kind
of celebrity, especially in Old
Town.
“As soon as you put on that
suit you are no longer
anonymous,” rather, the cen
ter of attention. As a result,
Ray has been cautious of the
image he presents. To get
ready, “I read Charles Dicken’s
‘A Christmas Carol,’ and
‘Miracle On 34th Street.’ I also
keep a picture of Santa on my
mirror when I make-up.”
Though Ray realizes the
stereotype everyone sees of
Santa Claus, he doesn’t try to
“ho-ho” it up too much. In a
sense, this Santa wants to rid
children of the notion that San
ta is a real individual.
“Parents seem to want me to
pervade the “Ho-ho” image of,
Santa, but 1 feel that children
have more honesty needs than
adults. I try,to make them un
derstand that though I am real,
Santa is just a concept. One kid
summed it up beautifully when'
he said, “I know Santa Claus
isn’t real, but I think you’re real
nice.’ ” Ray said.
Apart from his own image of
Santa, “a willingness to care,
listen, and level with children,
are the most important creden
tials for an aspiring Saint
Nicholas,” he said. “I try to let
them know that I’m genuinely
interested in them. In the
beginning of the conversation,
when they sit on my lap, I ask
them questions like ‘how was
your day?’ Most children are
most interested in what has
happened to them in the last
few hours.”
Some Santas may grow con
cerned about children “putting
him on the spot” by asking for
too many presents, or presents
of outlandish quality.
“Once I had a two-year-old
ask me for a pony, and another
wanted a knife for Christmas,”
Ray said'.
The way Ray handles these
children is “the famous side
step,” he said. For a lengthy list
of Christmas gifts, he has them
pick one or two from five, 10 or
20 items.
Most importantly, Ray said,
“I take a look at the parents first
to insure I make certain
promises they can keep.”
The Old Town Santa was
surprised when he found the
large number of children that
didn’t know what they wanted
for Christmas.
“The
kids
aren’t
as
materialistic as I expected,” he
said. “I’d say, of the 50 kids
I’ve talked to so far, about two-
thirds just wanted to talk.
When I asked them what they
wanted, I got comments
ranging from ‘I don’t know,’ to
T just think I’ll wait and see.’ ”
With all the diversity, one
could guess that this Santa
feels the hours he has worked
by the end of the day, but he
goes home with a twinkle in his
eye as bright as when he begins
his shift.
“I think we all should
celebrate ourselves more, we
don’t really have to have an
excuse for it,” he said.
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