Christmas Memories

 

When Robert Kirby was a boy, he began to question the existence of Santa Claus. Asking his parents brought less than satisfying results, so he decided to launch his own investigation: “Christmas Eve 1963 I put a sheet of cardboard on the darkened stairs leading into the house. Since we had no chimney, I reasoned Santa would have to step on the cardboard when he came into the house. He would leave evidence in the form of boot prints. Our parents crammed us in bed at 9 p.m. and turned out the lights. I was just dozing off when the silence of the house was shattered. Someone had stepped on the cardboard in the darkness, surfing it to the bottom of the stairs and into a pile of shovels and lawn chairs. Proof! Santa was not only real, but he also was clumsy and cursed like a sailor. I told all my friends. Nobody believed me.”