A Different Kind of Santa

My encounter with Santa in the neighborhood was a bit unusual. There was this older fellow with a long white beard who frequently was seen up and down our alley. Patty Saller and I would spy on him. I guess he was what we called "a bum" being politically incorrect. I,m sure he was well aware that we were watching him and one day he caught us spying and said something like "Hey little girls come over here and I'll show you something" which now a days would have been the signal to run but being curious and innocent we went over. He handed us an envelope and said "Merry Christmas" when we opened it inside was a rubber band twisted around a button set up to unwind with a buzzing that scared the bejesus out of us. He laughed and walked away saying "Merry Christmas!! HOHOHO" So whenever we'd see him after that we called him Merry or Mr. Christmas if we were feeling polite. He was just another character in the neighborhood.