There are still newspapers in this country that print letters to Santa every December. We have received one of them in our home all of our married life. <br />
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I don't usually pay too much attention to those letters but for some reason I did this time. I think it was because some of the writers were actually admitting that they had been bad! Unheard of, as I recall, in my Santa letter-writing days.<br />
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The title of this column came from one of the letters published a month ago by the Clayton Record, a weekly newspaper put together in Clayton, Ala., county seat of Barbour County, my wife Sandra's home county. It was actually the first line of the letter.<br />
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Many of the letters seemed genuine - replete with misspelled words, incorrect grammar, etc. Others seemed altogether too perfect, reading more like a form letter. Obviously, the former made for more interesting reading.<br />
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Examples of classic lines from some of the others include:<br />
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"I don't (have) to tell you my list because my Elf on a Shelf (told) you already, I think."<br />
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"I have been good this week."<br />
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"I want my elf to (leave) my things alone."<br />
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"I have been a little bad and a little good."<br />
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"Would you like ten cookies this year? Or would you like more?"<br />
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"You (are) my friend but this year I was bad."<br />
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Most of the letters were the typical letters to Santa - detailing the kinds of toys and other items the youngsters were hoping to get. But one of the last that caught my eye - from "Christopher" - deviated from the usual: <br />
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"All I want for Christmas is to be with my parent(s?) and my family. I hope one day we will get our (own) place to stay. That we can move out with my grandpa and grandma."<br />
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That from a second-grader, who did go on to tell Santa a few things he hoped to find under the tree but they were not all toys or games. He also asked for some shoes and clothes.<br />
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Here's hoping Christopher got (or will soon get) all that he wanted for Christmas.<br />
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<I>(Ken Stanford is a Contributing Editor and the retired longtime News Director for WDUN-AM, WDUN-FM, 1240 ESPN Radio and AccessNorthGa.com.)<I>
