WILKES-BARRE — It’s Thanksgiving week, and what better way to begin the celebration than to continue my time-honored tradition of displaying Santa Claus on my front door.
Wait. What?
That’s right, Santa has returned to my front door, proudly situated where he should be — not where he was originally marketed to go.
Yes, folks, it’s that time of the year again for me to re-tell the story: “How I Saved the Toilet Seat Santa.”
Some years ago, I found myself wandering through Bed Bath & Beyond, and I came upon a display of Christmas decorations.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but the best-looking Santa Claus decoration I had ever seen!
But I wondered what it was. It couldn’t be a doormat? Who would wipe their feet on Santa’s face? No, it wasn’t a doormat — it was far worse than that.
Upon further inspection, I discovered that this beautiful smiling Santa face was — gasp! — a toilet seat cover!
Yes, some marketing misfit actually convinced some company he or she worked for to manufacture and sell Santa Toilet Seat Covers!
To say the least, after I recovered from this initial shock, I was appalled.
Going way back to my early days, Santa has always been one of my favorite people. Any guy who would spend all night traveling around the world in a sleigh pulled by reindeer to deliver toys to kids is my kind of guy. Santa made many stops at my house over the years, and I always appreciated his impressive effort.
That’s why I felt I needed to rescue at least one of these Santa images from spending the holidays in somebody’s bathroom.
So, I purchased one and brought it home, hanging it in a place of true honor — my front door. For all the passing world to see!
My neighbor saw it and liked it, so I happily went to purchase one for her — ecstatic that another Santa would be saved from a bathroom toilet.
This is where it got really interesting.
While I was prepared to purchase a second Santa to rescue, a woman was looking at the very same item. So, I approached her and asked her if she was going to buy one, and she said she was thinking about it.
I then asked her what she was going to do with it. She said, “Well, it is a toilet seat cover, isn’t it?” And I responded, “Only if you decide to use it as one.”
The woman now looked perplexed, so I told her that I had purchased one. She asked me what I did with mine, and I told her that I hung it on my front door — proudly. I told her that I didn’t think putting Santa Claus on a toilet was appropriate — especially if children are using that toilet.
The woman thought about it for a minute and then said she agreed with me. She said she, too, would hang her Santa on her front door, and she said she would purchase a second one for her daughter to hang on her front door! Joy to the world!
That made four Santas saved from the indignant life of covering a toilet seat.
Santa deserves much better.
Now I will say that I decided to display Santa a little early this year because I think our world needs more to smile about and more to feel good about.
This is important for me.
It all starts with being kind to one another, whether it be at the dinner table, the workplace, on social media or anywhere. Lift up each other and find the good in each other.
When you’re a kid, you don’t really realize just how lucky you are. You never think about all those other kids who are not nearly as fortunate as you.
I think about all of those good boys and girls who, through no fault of their own, have not been as fortunate as me and my pals on Reynolds Street in Plymouth back in the day. I think about those kids who want, but rarely receive. The kids who ask and hope for Santa to bring them everything they desire, but don’t get nearly what they deserve.
I remember going to a home in Hanover Township one year around Christmas for Make-A-Wish. It was a single mom with a couple of kids — good kids, nice kids. We were there to interview the mom about her son, who was a Make-A-Wish kid, which means, in addition to everything else, this little boy was facing a life-threatening illness.
While my co-Wish volunteer talked to the mom, it was my job to talk to the child. The protocol was to take the child away from his parent(s) to ask the child what his/her wish was — what he or she really wanted.
On this evening, this little boy had a Wish — he wished that Santa would bring presents for his Mom and his sister.
His Wish was granted.
Those of us who can should do what we can for those who need help.
We all need that spirit — that kindness.
That’s why Santa is on my front door, sending a quiet message — a message that could never be sent — or received — from a toilet seat.