'I was bad at school but I am good at home'

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 /> <br /> 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 /> <br /> 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 /> <br /> 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 /> <br /> Examples of classic lines from some of the others include:<br /> <br /> "I don't (have) to tell you my list because my Elf on a Shelf (told) you already, I think."<br /> <br /> "I have been good this week."<br /> <br /> "I want my elf to (leave) my things alone."<br /> <br /> "I have been a little bad and a little good."<br /> <br /> "Would you like ten cookies this year? Or would you like more?"<br /> <br /> "You (are) my friend but this year I was bad."<br /> <br /> 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 /> <br /> "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 /> <br /> 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 /> <br /> Here's hoping Christopher got (or will soon get) all that he wanted for Christmas.<br /> <br /> <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>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/1/257257