While the secular world is all about Santa Claus because of the rampant consumerism he represents and many in the Church urge us not to put so much emphasis on ole Saint Nick because Jesus should be the true focus of the season, I have a different take on the matter. I believe that Santa Claus is an integral and vital part of the holiday. I do agree that Christmas has lost much of its intended meaning for most of the populace and Santa Claus has played a significant role in its degradation, but only because people have taken him out of the context of his true existence. Rather than a saint who delivers gifts to poor and needy children to bring joy into their lives, he has been twisted by the media into an icon of gluttony and greed. But this is not true for everyone. Some children, likely many children, still view Santa Claus as a magical, mysterious being who comes once a year to bring them a gift they truly long for. My father was a rotund man with a white beard by the time he was 50. He loved to tell the story of the time he was in the airport, and this little girl sitting nearby kept sneaking glances at him and whispering to her mother. Finally, with a modicum of chagrin, the girl’s mother said, “She thinks you’re Santa Claus.” Without missing a beat, he asked if she would like to sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas, which she immediately did. Despite the many reasons to doubt his existence, children believe. They believe that he receives their letters at the north pole, that he is able to visit every child on the planet in one night, even that he has flying reindeer. Question them about it and they can explain it all with such certainty that even the most curmudgeoniest heart could start to believe as well. This is the epitome of faith. Furthermore, while some parents push the naughty or nice list bit in an effort to get their children to behave, in my house, Santa came whether I deserved it or not. And this, I think is the salient point. Santa Claus is Christ in a kid friendly form. Or he should be. The concept of Christ as savior and the Grace of God is difficult for children to grasp, but Santa bringing presents not because they deserve them but because they are loved is something they can connect with. Teaching this has the potential to lay the foundation for a more profound and deeper understanding and faith later in life. Therefore, I say let Santa live in the hearts of children. When they begin to question, explain that he does certainly exist, just not the way the movies and cartoons show him. He exists wherever there is love for love’s sake. Wherever a child receives a gift because they are loved by another person, Santa is there. He may not appear as a fat man in a red suit. His visage may be that of a mother or father, a teacher who picks a child off the angel tree, a volunteer for the Toy Convoy or Toys for Tots, or any number of other disguises. Then again, you might just see him wearing beard and suit at the airport. You never know.
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The other week, I sent out a survey to my newsletter recipients. In it, I asked several questions I wanted answers to that would help me refine my advertising game. However, I left an opening for readers to let me know what they wanted more of, and this is one of those questions. What, exactly, inspired me to write Missing?
To truly answer this, we must travel back in time to 2004. I was living in Chicago, pursuing an acting career. Acting is my first love. We met early in life and courted each other throughout the years until college, when I decided to make a commitment and become a professional. As an actor, I've always been drawn to interesting characters. The more I thought about how to portray a character, the more I realized that every character has a story to tell, even Spear Carrier #2. And when you're just starting out, you play a lot of those kind of characters. Unfortunately, playwrights don't give you a lot to work with for those characters so a lot is left to the imagination. Exploring the stories that weren't told on stage led me to a greater depth of understanding and eventually to a place where I wanted to tell the stories of those characters. Gray's story actually began as an exercise in character exploration. I wanted to know what it was like inside the head of a hard-boiled detective from the film-noir genre. It took a long time for his full story to reveal itself, and I didn't have it all on paper until ten years later. I was busy focusing on an acting career, but every now and then, Gray would whisper in the back of my brain, urging me to finish his story. Figuring out what his story was also took a while, but it was rooted in my experience in Chicago. I knew the setting would play an essential part in its telling, but I didn't know what the events would be yet. Then I saw the third Blade movie. While I wasn't particularly thrilled with it, there were parts that intrigued me. What would it be like to live in a world where vampires didn't lurk in Gothic towers or spooky cemeteries, but secretly ran multi-million dollar corporations? For giggles, I dropped Gray into this world to see what would happen, and that is where the story was truly born. I didn't begin writing in earnest until I left Chicago. I missed the city immensely, and Gray's adventures let me revisit whenever I wanted. You could even say the city became a character itself, and I wouldn't say you were wrong. Thanks for reading. If you have any other questions, drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you. Have a great weekend! |
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