K-Mart Santa

Carla King

One of my first strong memories is of going to see Santa at K-Mart in Greensboro when I was 4? My mom (and my younger sister probably) were walking to see him and the little red ball I was carrying fell out of my hands and rolled under a bench. I crawled under to get it and stood up and whacked my head on a bolt and ended up in the emergency room for 3 stitches in my temple. I still have the scar. I don’t know if that incident had anything to do with it but the idea of sitting in a strange old man’s lap and telling him what I want still creeps me out.

Santa's innermost thoughts can't be repeated out loud

Every year it seems that Santa is appearing earlier to visit with the masses. I had an encounter over Thanksgiving holiday at the world famous Hotel Del Coronado. I had that magic feeling when I spotted him walking down a hall and went over to say hello. For some reason he was being escorted by an ice princess that was taking him to his chair in the courtyard. So we managed to have a brief encounter and the things he said to me quietly in my ear -- oh Santa. I've been holding a wee grudge for many decades because he never delivered a live horse to me back in the day. He did manage to fill up my shelves with those plastic Breyer horses though. Gratitude.