Well I guess it had to happen...

Hi to you,

So today it had to happen, and I will explain later...

Today we had 59 photos taken, and we had some wonderful dogs including a Great Dane, Black Lab, Yorkie, Chocolate Lab, and a Springer Spaniel. Last year we had 66 photos, so we went down by 7 from last year. Normally, I would be just crushed. But the "Talent" is still ahead of the curve...

Last year you read about me spouting about my bro Barry. Well he is no longer with Bass Pro, and from what I hear he is enjoying his retirement. Go Barry!

Today was another quiet day, but steady. One person just kind of sticks in my mind, which is amazing, I know. This family comes up to see the big guy and I noticed two of the three kids (the third being an infant) were translating for their mom. The kids asked if they could have a family picture. Of course, I said yes. So after I hear a "See" from the oldest child (about 8 years old) I was swarmed in less than 5 seconds. I had the two oldest on my knees, with mom on my right. I told the oldest child that mom had to be on my left (the Bass Pro logo goes on the right of the photograph automatically), so she switched sides and I noticed she was hanging onto the infant like it was a sack of flour. I pointed to the camera, smile, and "snap" the picture was taken.

I then asked the question heard everywhere these days, "What would you girls like for Christmas?" Now I thought that it was a clear, concise, and straight forward question without too much room for error on my part. I was wrong. The answer I received was, "Thanksgiving!" I smiled and said, "No, for Christmas?" and the younger girl said, "Yes, but we are looking forward to Thanksgiving for all that good food." Now after a second to process what the girls said, I realized that they were just happy for food, and Thanksgiving is the day you get all your favorites. Christmas was not even in there minds. I expect somebody told mom about the stuff at Bass Pro so she just brought them to give them a break and so they can be kids and play with the toys and get a picture for the frig. and later Christmas will come.

Now you might be thinking Santa is reading a lot into the situation. However, if you could of seen the faces of these kids when they were talking with me, and watched how they played, you would agree I'm not far off.

Be Kind and Rewind,



Santa