This is your Old Pal, Santa Claus. I am getting ready for my Big Trip in a few weeks; and I have been steadily watching you and marking your progress. You will always be my Number One Priority, and how you behave on Earth determines just how I will reward you on Christmas morning. If you are good, you will get presents beyond your wildest imaginations; if you are bad, I will leave a lump of coal or a rock in your stockings. So PLEASE be good to your mommies and daddies, for old Santa's Sake! I am COUNTING on you!
I realize that so many of you WILL be happy come Christmas morning; but I also know that there are others who WON'T. They are either sick, dying, or don't have money; and some won't even HAVE a Christmas, they are that poor. And some are so poor they can't get food to satisfy their hungry little bellies, or they don't even have a place to sleep or call home. Or they are hiding from wars, and some have been senselessly maimed or beaten by family members or even strangers. There are still more who lie in hospitals, their tiny lives hanging in the balance, or those who are in the midst of messy custody battles between their selfish parents who only care about what's best for THEM and not their dear little ones. Or there are those who are fighting disabilites that are beyond their control; and as a result, they are often treated badly because most children do not understand what it is like TO be disabled, and they are often the target of catcalls or cruelty.
Those are the children I wish to address with this letter. I want to write to these children to show that I care for them. I also want to let them know that there WILL be a way I can make your Christmases so memorable! I am SANTA CLAUS; I can do ANYTHING!! So DON'T give up hope; I AM coming! And you WILL have a CHRISTMAS!! After all, isn't CHRISTMAS about BELIEVING IN MIRACLES?? (Where there's a will, there's a way!)
I wish I could personally come to you, just so I can give you a hug or a kiss; and I wish I could take some of your pain and suffering away. You may not realize it, but Santa Claus DOES cry, and he cries because he doesn't like to see you being so sad (especially on Christmas morning). He cries because you are all facing problems that are beyond your control; and if I could change one thing about your situation, believe me, I WOULD, in a HEARTBEAT! But it doesn't mean I don't love you or care for you, because I am here to say one thing to you..I DO care, and I DO love you..VERY MUCH!! I want you to know this, and this is why I am writing you this letter.
Two little children that Santa probably will always remember are two little angels named Johnny and Ronee', in which I am about to write to now. I will never forget you two as long as I live because you two have touched me so deeply with your love and courage!
Johnny, I will especially remember you. You were the little wheelchair-bound boy who told me two years ago that you didn't want anything for Christmas because you already had everything, and you wanted me to see the poor children first. What a generous little heart you possess! If only more children could be as unselfish or so loving as you are then the world would be such a nicer, gentler place! You are a precious little miracle, and if there was one thing I wish I could do for you, it would be to take your muscular dystrophy away and see you run around, just like any other nearly ten-year-old little boy! That is probably the dearest wish I hold in my heart for you, my little Johnny!
And Ronee'..you precious little angel! I can't take away your pain, I am sorry to say, but I CAN offer my prayers to God Above, and He CAN definitely help you. I am not a doctor, but God IS, and He CAN heal you! Just ask Him, and He will answer your prayer if you believe, which, for a fact, I happen to know you DO. But I CAN bring you the drawing supplies you asked for, and I CAN bring you a new pair of crutches; and I CAN bring you the kitty toys you requested for your little kitty!
Well, I am sorry I have to make this short; I have to check on my Elves; and I also have to feed Rudolph and Company! It's getting near their supper time, and I DON'T want to have a Team of cranky, hungry REINDEER!! If they don't eat soon, they may be nibbling on my SUIT, and then I won't have nothing to wear when I make my Yearly Big Journey!
Write to you again before Christmas!
BE GOOD, DARLINGS, AND REMEMBER THIS..SANTA CLAUS IS WATCHING!! And he loves each and every one of you so very much!
What began as Songs of the Angelic Gaze in the summer of 2006 continued the following year as The Bridge of Silver Wings, and developed even further two years after that into The Bridge of Silver Wings 2009. Whether readers describe it as a conversa
