Jumping ship here....I have decided to add a new category to my post listings....Growing Up Hiser....which features memories of my two sons. How adorable are they....sitting there with Old Santa back in 1984. Let's see...Aric would have been 6 and Garrett, 3.
I was an "almost" full time working gal back then...almost being the operational word. I would find a day during the week early in December when I drove the boys into Cleveland for a day with Santa, Mr. Jingeling, and lunch. The MO always was....park in the May Company parking lot...head up to the May Company Santa Floor early for the annual visit and photo op....ride the little train....head over to Higbees for lunch.....see Mr. Jingleling, get the Good Luck cardboard key...be fascinated by Bruce the Talking Spruce....and finally, send the two boys into the Santa Shop to purchase items for the family.
Just talking with my oldest son this morning by phone brought back this annual trip and pushed me to relive the memory. Later in the day I asked Garrett if he had fond memories of our day visiting Santa. Always the comic, he responded, "I don't remember Santa being the focus in my mind. It was Bruce the Spruce that was interesting. It was like going to Oz and seeing the Wizard....you just knew there was a man hiding behind that tree making his eyes move and doing the voice."
I think we were still going when Aric was in middle school and Garrett was past the "I believe" age. I was still able to pursuade them to do the photo (it was a Mom thing); however we primarily just wandered around the Santa Floor, enjoyed a few laughs with Bruce the Spruce and had lunch!
By that time in their young lives, it was....in a word....TRADITION.
© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser
Great memories and tradition. They sure were cute!!
ReplyDeleteMr. Jingleling and Bruce the talking Spruce? I never heard of them; I guess they were local celebrities? Now I am trying to remember the names of our local celebrities in Southern California....
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