I feel fortunate that during this Christmas season, I was able to do an interview with a real elf.  What follows is a true account of our interview.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It’s not often that I get to meet an elf.

A real Elf, I never thought that I would meet one.  How are you?  Thanks for agreeing to this interview.

You’re welcome. Merry Christmas…..

Why are you in Kansas?  I would think that you would be very busy this time of the year.

I never thought that I would be in Kansas.  This is kind of far from home for me.  There’s some great barbecue here, not much else. Kansas is a real interesting place; people install security lights on their house and garage and then leave them unlocked.  If a thief were coming to your home, you could see him when he was two days away.  Kansas …. you never know where life will take you.

So, how did you get here?

The Christmas business has been slowing down.  Not as many children believe anymore. For the first time ever, Nick had to lay off some of his staff. This was two years ago. The whole Hope and Change thing isn’t working…..

Nick?  You mean Santa.

To us, he’s Nick.  So yeah, I got laid off.  A friend of mine was living here is Kansas.  He said the cost of living was cheaper.  So, I moved here last summer.  Unfortunately, my benefits ran out this year and I had to move to this place….not that nice, but all of the corn I could eat.

What do you mean, thing got slow?  I thought you had a monopoly.

Years ago, kids would start sending letters in early November. We were busy…..  Then cheap toys started flooding the market from China.  We couldn’t compete.  We started making toys and shipping them directly to the stores.  We never said we made them. It would have ruined our brand.  We’d ship to some of the biggest chains.

That kept us going for a while.  The other problem is that so few kids believe now.  Half of the kid market is gone now.  The only segment that is growing is our wholesale division and I was not part of that group.

Wow….Who knew all of this was going on….  What happened to your benefits?

Nick could not contribute to our pension plans anymore.  He missed several payments.  There having the same problem in NJ except we were 10 times worse.  We were deep in stocks and when the market fell, so did our plan.  Now, no one’s getting anything.  A few malls tried to hire me.  They wanted me to be Nick. It just did not feel right.

Who are those people outside?

It’s amazing; people come by to see me.  They don’t knock on the door.  I just find them looking in the window.  I guess they want to see an Elf.  Somehow the word got out.  If I talk to them and they stay for hours.

You really should close the window.

Look at that window.  Would it make a difference…….

So, do you hate Christmas now?

You know, years ago, Christmas was work and my work was Christmas.  The more the kids wanted, the more secure my job was.  Now, for the past two years, I had a chance to stop and think about the real meaning of Christmas. You know: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”

What does not future hold for you?

Not really sure…..Some of my friends got called back. Demand is up this year.  Who knows … Not much work around here for a guy with red tights. But,  life is good…..

Thanks for the interview, Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

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This picture was made from parts:

old man: www.flickr.com/photos/nishanthjois/5101493556/
man with baby: fav.me/dfh0o8
window: www.flickr.com/photos/_dietrich/2402860858