On The Road with Dave

Code Name: CECIL

2010-02-08T00:36:00.000-06:00

Materials Needed:

One Large Balloon(Punch ball)
Kraft Paper
Wheat Wallpaper Paste
Scrap 1/8 plywood or paneling
Approximately 1 yard of fake fur(long shag)
Package of shredded(or powdered) papier-mache'
Miscellaneous scraps of felt, velvet, feathers, etc.

String, screws, glue, wire, springs, wooden beads and some secret ingredients.

A long time ago, I had two other ventriloquist dummies before my current partner, Skyler. Both were constructed by myself. Both were lost or damaged beyond repair over the years and their absence has been weighing on me. I've had the desire in the last six months to resurrect one of the characters from scratch and add some improvements to his original design. That desire has recently manifested into an actual commitment to begin the process.

I'm constructing a new puppet to add to the new ventriloquism portion of my act. Though not Top Secret, I've christened the new project, CODENAME:CECIL, in honor of the previous character. The saga of the construction will play out over the next few months with photos of the progress. You can also bet that Skyler's Gravel Road will weigh in on the construction and the eventual character that evolves.

I don't have the mastery of some of the finer craftsmen of ventriloquist figures, but if history is any judge, I think I can pull this off. I'm also betting that a few of my ventriloquist readers will be able to guess by the photo, exactly what plans I'll be using circa 1974.

"Sunday Thoughts"

2010-02-07T07:50:00.000-06:00

"Jumping at several small opportunities may get us there more quickly than waiting for one big one to come along."

--Hugh Allen

Blogger To Abandon Dave

2010-02-05T23:50:00.003-06:00

I've been dumped by girlfriends, had friends no longer hang with me, and horror of horrors; I have even had people "unfriend" me on Facebook and "unfollow" me on Twitter. But today, I think I have suffered the greatest indignity of all--Blogger.com has decided not to support me.

Today I read an email from the blogging service that as of March 26, it would no longer support FTP publishing. For those not hip to the jargon, it means I'll no longer be able to use the simple Blogger software to write my blog entries and then have them seamlessly upload to my www.ontheroadwithdave.com domain hosted elsewhere.

When I first started my blog, "On The Road With Dave"; its design was a Blogger template and written at Blogger and hosted by Blogger with Blogger's BlogSpot address, daveontheroad.blogspot.com.. Most Blogger-hosted blogs have the "blogspot" as part of the URL address. I was extremely proud when I purchased my own domain and was able to still write "On The Road With Dave" with the easy to use Blogger format, but have it hosted at my very own domain with no "blogspot" address. Moving the blog had it's problems, but it was worth it, to call it "My own".

So today, I read that Blogger wants to make me move my blog BACK to their site and their hosting and have me re-direct my readers via a Custom Domain hosting procedure and drop my current subscription with my hosting site, all because I'm one of the few(thousands)of their blogger population that publish to another host.

I'm faced with a host (get it? Host..web hosting...forget it) of problems. One problem for me is that they will not support a directory extension like .com/example. I created my DAVEWEAR page like that. Blogger will insist on subdomains like example(dot)mydomain.com. I hate subdomains.

Another problem is I kinda like having my files at a hosting site that I have some control over. And, if I go elsewhere I want to keep my current website look. Some of the borders and style are taken from adjusted rewritten original Blogger styles. I have no expertise on designing a new style sheet or template. Also, there'd be massive linkage breaks and images to reload. I already did that once. Most of my readers know, I'm limited in my "techy-ness". It takes me hours of looking at my template and figuring out where I insert some HTML piece that I copied from somewhere and inserting it into my design. Once it took me two hours to figure out how to change a background color.

Anyway I have until March 26 to decide what to do and complete the changes. I may go back to Blogger and use their solution, or migrate to another service such as WordPress. (Geez, another learning curve) Either way, I fear change and the probable pain and expense that will ensue.

Blogger may abandon me, but I'm not abandoning blogging or writing. Stick around and enjoy my suffering. You know you like it.

Trouble With Skyler

2010-02-01T00:04:00.001-06:00

I don't think I like my ventriloquist sidekick.

That's not entirely true. How do you spend 28 years with "somebody" without liking them? Okay, and I know he's not really "somebody"; he's a puppet, a dummy--he's not really alive. But, I'm having trouble with Skyler.

Skyler started out as an idea from a rough sketch I drew. His inspiration drawn from the poster boy of Mad Magazine, Alfred E Neuman. Legendary ventriloquist figure maker, Finis Robinson took on the task of carving out my idea into wood and creating my sidekick.

Finis wrote to me upon Skyler's completion, "He's a fine boy, but more
mature material will be needed for him." I'm sure that Finis didn't mean "dirty" or "blue" material, but rather Skyler would not be suitable for cutesy kid's parties. I was okay with that at the time, I was 18 and had visions of comedy clubs and TV appearances dancing in my head.

Things between Skyler and I started out okay. We were doing gigs, making people laugh, flirting with girls. Skyler went to college with me, joined me at some parties and generally was a good ventriloquist sidekick.

After I got married and put performing on the back burner for a while, Skyler spent a few years tucked away in his trunk; only to be brought out occasionally to entertain house guests or to undergo some routine maintenance. I would bring him out at times to do some ventriloquism practice, just to be able to say I was still a ventriloquist and to display some semblance of expertise.

That was when the trouble began. Working with Skyler became more difficult. Not with his mechanics or operation; he was and has always been a thrill to operate. His expressions were great, he was fantastic to manipulate, and his personality seem to flow out even before I put words into his mouth through ventriloquism. But, he seemed to be...how do I put this...mean.

As a ventriloquist, you have to practice daily on lip control, manipulation of the ventriloquist figure, and timing as well as the comedy act between the ventriloquist and the dummy. The dialogue between the ventriloquist and the dummy is a one-act play. A script is followed that allows the ventriloquist, in most cases, to be the "straight man" to the dummy. The ventriloquist sets up the jokes and the dummy delivers the punchline. Not so with Skyler. For some reason, Skyler doesn't stick to the script. I tend to argue with him during practice. Practice ain't fun with him. His "put-downs" seem spontaneous and evil. He berates me. His verbal jabs hurt. In short, I don't think HE likes ME anymore.

Now, before you start psychoanalyzing me and calling the good folks at my local mental asylum, I know that all his words are coming from my mouth. I know I'm arguing with myself. His cynicism and sarcasm and meanness is all coming from my mind. I have heard of ventriloquists outgrowing a dummy and moving to another character, but I don't think this is the case. It's more like, there's a frustration within myself that I have ignored Skyler that personifies itself as Skyler being annoyed with me. I've let his personality that I originally created for him atrophy to the point that all that exists is evil meanness.

I'm sure other ventriloquists out there may have gone through something similar, maybe not to this degree, but we all tend to project an inner personality through our dummies. Our dummies display that part of us that we tend to shy away from. And as a comedian, I'm often told that comics are a sad lot, deriving humor from their inner turmoil. If you ask me, all this introspective, reflective crap gets in the way of just telling funny stories and making people laugh.

So, if I want to add ventriloquism to my comedy gigs, and make it unique and funny, I need to come up with a solution that will satisfy my "inner Skyler" and use my longtime sidekick to make people laugh once again and not just piss me off when we practice.

It's either that or hire a local voodoo priestess to get rid of Skyler's evilness.

Sunday Thoughts

2010-01-31T17:45:00.000-06:00

"If you resolve to give up smoking, drinking and loving, you don't actually live longer; it just seems longer."

--Clement Freud

Ambulance Rides Are Not Funny

2010-01-27T23:41:00.003-06:00

I spent Tuesday night in a hospital Emergency Room. It wasn't my first choice, but it seemed like the entire day had it out for me. Here's the complete story...

I generally stay up late and Monday night was no different. After spending some quality time online at Twitter and Facebook; I had decided to turn in around 3AM. As is my custom, I went to the 'fridge to pour one last glass of tea and smoke my last cigarette for the evening. Upon opening the fridge, I noticed that "de-frosty" smell you get when your refrigerator is not working. This led to the next couple of hours of emptying the refrigerator, digging out a cooler, chipping ice, and saving the perishables. At about 5AM, I crawled into bed for a few hours sleep before work on Tuesday.

Now, work is just work. I answer phone calls from customers of a cellular company and hash out their bills, fix their phones, and answer questions. Some customers are nice, some are not so nice. There's goals to meet, expectations, rules, and stress. I handle it all pretty well.

At about 9:30 or so,Tuesday night, I finished a call; said "Thank you for calling" and experienced a sudden sharp pain in the middle of my chest. I catch my breath a couple of times and put my phone software on hold. Another sharp pain in my chest and my right arm begins to hurt. Right away, I'm NOT thinking heart attack, because it's supposed to be your left arm and the pain is supposed to be more to the left, not in the middle. I'm thinking some indigestion is at work. Generally, I eat lunch before work and just wait until I get home at night for dinner. My lunch break is only 30 minutes and I generally use it to de-stress and smoke an extra cigarette before returning to take calls.

But the pain doesn't subside, and I catch the attention of my supervisor, and call her over. By this time, my fingers feel a little tingly, I'm kinda "clammy" and I'm not feeling so sporty. She calls Security, and they grab my stuff and walk me to the front of the building. I'm not walking too good by now and for some reason I'm feeling kind of disoriented. My wife is called and arrives and on the advice of the security guard, my wife takes me across the street to the local fire department.

After I explained my symptoms, they sit me down, they take my blood pressure,(157/90, put some Oxygen on me, start an IV and hook me up to an EKG machine. The EMT tells me that something doesn't look right and gives me a spray of nitroglycerin and some aspirin. I tried to stand back up but my legs went out from under me. An ambulance is called; much to my dismay, and I head to the local university medical center. I'm not liking all this. I have no medical insurance and I'm stressing about the money. On top of all this; now, I have a headache caused by the nitro.

The nice EMT, Donna, tried to relax me in the ambulance and asked me questions and I was slow to answer her and couldn't really think well. I couldn't remember my phone numbers, but I could tell her my Social Security number. We finally arrived at University of South Alabama Medical Center.

At the hospital--they hooked me up to another EKG machine. This is the third EKG of the evening, The EMT in the ambulance had also wired me up for the ride into Mobile. I have the little sticky patches all over my body by now. The hospital staff do a chest X-ray, draw blood, take my blood pressure(127/90) and asked me a hundred questions. "Rate the pain on a scale of 1-10" (7-8) "Use drugs?" (No) "History of heart disease?" (Yes) "How old was your Father when he died?"(89) and then I begin to wait. By now, it's about Midnight and the pain is a dull ache and I'm kinda hungry. Remember, I was going to go home at 10PM and eat.

The doctor came back in and said that my heart rate was good and the EKG looked normal. I answered more questions, but my two questions; "Can I go home? and Can I eat something?" are answered, "NO". The doctor said I needed to stay at the hospital for a second round of blood tests. I didn't know this, but the second round was for comparison purposes with the first round. During a heart attack, our hearts are kind enough to release an enzyme marker to let us know if we experienced any heart damage. Thankfully, my pain had subsided by now.

My wonderful wife who had been let into the room by now, decided to leave me to drive back home to gather up some stuff for me for what appeared to be my stay at the hospital. (By the way, did I mention that this was HER BIRTHDAY? Yes, she wakes to a busted 'fridge and is now at the hospital with her apparent "busted-heart-husband)

I laid in the hospital bed, listening to my heart monitor. I messed with the Oxygen Saturation monitor on my finger and made the wavy line on the monitor mess up and I read the same posters over and over again. "CALL BEFORE YOU FALL" and "YES YOU CAN ASK US IF WE CLEANSED OUR HANDS", with a smiling nurse washing her hands. If I had been thinking clearly, I would have called some one to ask them, but I missed that opportunity. Instead, I kept adjusting the hospital gown as it fell off my shoulders, tried not to move my IV-needled hand, and moved all the wires around so I could put a sheet over me. I also watched my blood pressure cuff as it automatically kept checking my BP(120/80).

At around 3AM, more blood is drawn through my IV tube,(That hurt like a "mother") and my dutiful-beautiful wife arrived back at the hospital.

A little after 4AM, the doctor said that my test results were negative for a heart attack. She said that I'm under a lot a stress and I smoke. (I knew that part) and that the chest pain was stress induced, possibly reflux, the pain raised my blood pressure and I probably had some anxiety and panic from it all. (I don't remember being that panicked) She also said I needed to schedule a stress test with my regular physician and that I needed to relax more, and quit smoking. To add insult to injury, she threw in, "You know if smoking doesn't kill you, it eventually causes impotency in men". (How,rude!) But the good news was that I could go home and take Wednesday off from work. My wife stayed home with me today, as well.

I do want to take this opportunity to thank the fine guys at Saraland Fire Department, Newman's Ambulance Service from Mobile, Alabama and the nice staff(Amy) and Dr. Costello at USA Medical Center.

Today, I've been sleeping a lot. I received some well wishes from Twitter and Facebook friends that read my status updates today and my wife's boss called to check on me. I've been thinking about my little "wake up call" that Tuesday decided to give me. Ambulance rides are not funny and I certainly don't want another one for quite some time. I suppose some changes are in order; Doctor's orders.

The Saints Are Coming

2010-01-24T22:09:00.001-06:00

The Gulf Coast shouts in glorified unison, "WHO DAT!"

The New Orleans Saints finally go to the Super Bowl!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEAM. YOU MADE US PROUD.

Sunday Thoughts

2010-01-24T11:42:00.001-06:00

"All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

--Conan O'Brien

The Return Of The King--Martin Luther King

2010-01-18T08:27:00.001-06:00

Click Here to View "Boondock's The Return Of The King" Adult Language and Racial Slurs Abound

Back in 2006, on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 77th birthday; Cartoon Network aired an episode of their acclaimed animated series, The Boondocks of the comic strip of the same name. In the episode, an alternative history is told of the shooting of Martin Luther King, Jr. The episode's name was taken from the The Lord of the Rings volume The Return of the King. It won a Peabody Award.

The episode was controversial and funny and told the story of MLK alive in the 21st Century shortly after the 9/11 tragedy. Series creator, Aaron McGruder displays his comic genius and never-ending talent for commenting on popular culture and our sensitivities to race relations and politics in the classic episode.

As a long-time viewer of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, I consider this one of the best episodes of the series(and there are many favorites of mine) and thought it both appropriate and down-right funny to reference today on Martin Luther King Day.

Take 20 minutes and watch it, laugh and think.

"Sunday Thoughts"

2010-01-17T12:35:00.000-06:00

"Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they're looking for ideas."

--Paula Poundstone

ReTweet This Blog

2010-01-10T23:42:00.001-06:00

One of the great things about Twitter is the sharing of information between those you follow on Twitter and those who follow you. Someone finds a news article that they think would interested you, they send a "tweet" and you see it. You like it and you want others to see it; you simple "Re-Tweet" it.

In the beginning of Twitter, you would copy and paste the user's tweet, add their @username to the beginning of the retweet, and type RT in front of the whole thing to let your followers know that this person "said" something you want your followers to "hear".

Nowadays, you simply click on the "retweet" button under the the "tweet", and Twitter automatically re-Tweets it.

I've noticed blogs and websites placing their own Retweet button under their articles and interested readers can automatically click the button and the article would post on their Twitter stream of messages. I like that. So I went to TweetMeme and copied my own Retweet button, for future articles here at On The Road With Dave.

So if you see something, you want to repeat to your Twitter-faithful; you now can Re-Tweet This Blog.

"Sunday Thoughts"

2010-01-10T16:40:00.001-06:00

"Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, it is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."

--Jack Handey

"Sunday Thoughts"

2010-01-03T15:32:00.000-06:00

"At every party there are two kinds of people - those who want to go home and those who don't. The trouble is, they are usually married to each other."

--Ann Landers

Happy 010110

2010-01-01T00:01:00.003-06:00

It's 2010 and whether you have decided to say, "Twenty-Ten" or "Two-thousand and ten" (My choice) or whether you are a computer-type and you are "geeking" on the fact that today is a binary day with 1's and 0's-- it all really comes down to if you believe that today and the new year that comes with it is a day of celebration and resolve to make changes in your life or just another day in the march of time.

I'm thinking that New Year's Day is a good day to make resolutions or new intentions to make changes where changes need to be made. You don't have to make all your resolutions today, you don't have to begin every new habit today and you don't have to give up every vice today; but it's a good day to resolve to make further resolves about your life and situation.

I'm not declaring any new resolutions or intentions for the new year here on this blog today; but I'm resolving that I will make--if not new resolutions; at least continuing with some ongoing resolutions.

Time marches on without any real limitation set by a calendar, so don't be discouraged if you miss making a resolve today, you have all the rest of the days of the year to make another day YOUR new year day. But today, is as a good a day as any.

"Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunder-storm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols."
--Thomas Mann

"One resolution I have made, and try always to keep, is this: To rise above the little things."
--John Burroughs

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."
--Hal Borland

Photo by Enimal

Looking Back On 2009

2009-12-31T01:12:00.001-06:00

Today is New Year's Eve, 2009.

As I thought about the past year for this blog entry, I had originally thought, "Not much has happened this year; what do I have to write about? What did I do that bears reflection on the past year?"

Looking back through the last year revealed nothing earth-shattering. I did not achieve fame nor fortune. NBC did not announce that I would take over for Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show. I didn't get a call from Caroline's asking me to headline for a week in New York City. It was a fairly slow year for comedy. It was a fairly slow year for blogging.

But, things did happen. I made strides. I made progress; and 2009 provided enough to write about that made it worthwhile.

So in tribute to the old year and the coming new year, here's a look behind the time that was 2009 and some assorted "old" and "new" related blog entries.

We got a new President

I lost an old job

I reveal 25 new things about myself

I try a new feature-style blog entry

A new Amway-related controversy

I quit an old job

A new blog interviews me

A new roadside shop opens up

I celebrate 5 old years

My wife starts a new blog

I say Good-bye to an old journalist

I celebrate when old heroes land on a new moon

I got a new job

SuperDu becomes Super New

A new addition to "Links I Like"

Christmas thoughts about my "ole" man

It appears that enough happened in the old year to make me look forward to the new year. I guess I'll get started on that list of new resolutions.

photo by semrox

"Sunday Thoughts"

2009-12-27T05:01:00.000-06:00

"For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning."

--T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding

Addicted To Twitter

2009-12-26T21:47:00.002-06:00

I log into the website Twitter on a regular basis. I keep up with a fairly large group of people whom I follow their updates. I have about the same number of people who follow my updates.

I post an update to my Twitter status about once a day. (Sometimes more)

I look for new people to follow a few times a week. I still get a thrill when someone new "follows" me. And I often comment and reply to some of my favorite Twitter folk.

But, I wouldn't say I'm a Twitter addict.

And according to the Twitter test I took, I'm really not that addicted.

Created by Oatmeal

How addicted are you? Take the test and let me know.

Say Good-bye To Santa

2009-12-25T11:59:00.002-06:00

Santa is back at the North Pole and Christmas is one minute from being officially over in my time zone.

All was happy and bright at the Robison household, and I hope all my readers had a great day. I worked on Christmas Day for the first time in many, many years but, it was still a great day!

It was Christmas--how could it not be a great day?

Here's looking forward to next year and keeping that Spirit of Christmas alive in the coming months.

Don't forget to look at my ventriloquist dummy's
blog, "Skyler's Gravel Road for his "Christmas Past"
article.

Photo by Emin Ozkan

Merry Christmas To All!

2009-12-25T08:43:00.000-06:00

"Christmas is forever, not for just one day, for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf. The good you do for others is good you do yourself..."

--Norman Wesley Brooks

Photo By Jram D

Peace And Good Will Toward Men

2009-12-25T05:58:00.001-06:00

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

--Book of Isaiah 9:6 New International Version

Photo by Stephen J. Sullivan

Just Like Our First Christmas

2009-12-24T05:15:00.001-06:00

Look at us now, Part of it all,In spite of it all,
We're still around

Lovers in love,
Just like we were
Being apart's a lonely sound

When people ask how we stay together
I say you never let me down
And you make it feel like Christmas
Even when things go wrong
I hear the sound of Christmas in your song
All year long
Yes, you know that I do

Look at the sun
Shining on me
Nowhere could be a better place

Lovers in love,
That's what we are
I reach for that star out there in space

'Cause you make it feel like Christmas
Even when things go wrong
I hear the sound of Christmas in your song
All year long
And you know that's it true

Sleepy we are,
But happy together
Sounds of forever
Greet the day
So wake up the kids,
Put on some tea
Light up the tree,
It's Christmas day

Yeah, you make it feel like Christmas
Even when things go wrong
I hear the sound of Christmas in your song
All year long
Yes you know that I do
All year long
Light up the tree,
It's Christmas time

--Neil Diamond; You Make It Feel Like Christmas

Christmas Is Almost Here

2009-12-23T22:57:00.003-06:00

As of this writing, it is 1 Day,1 Hour, and 1 Minute until Christmas Day. I can hardly wait.

This season I have done my very best to get into the Christmas spirit and stay in the Christmas spirit. Some years, I have became depressed or frustrated as Christmas approached. There have been some holidays that one would have expected me to say "Bah Humbug" and that's a shame because I really love the Christmas time of year. But, sometimes I have let the spirit of the season be replaced with money worries, possessions(or lack thereof) and my general lot in life. For Christmas, 2009; I decided in September that I would strive to ignite the spirit of Christmas early, and carry through with it until the New Year and beyond. So far, so good.

For the past week, I've been posting Countdown to Christmas updates on my Twitter page as well as my Facebook status. I think some people found it annoying, but others looked forward to it.

I've enjoyed making this past week's "On The Road With Dave" entries Christmas-related and over the next two days, my other side-blogs will have a Christmas update or two.

On top of the Christmas Spirit that has infested me, I'm also looking forward to tomorrow and Christmas Eve, as it is my wedding anniversary. All in all, I'm a pretty lucky guy, with lots to be thankful for, and pretty damn happy about it all.

Photo by Martine Lemmens

Mele Kalikimaka Is Hawaii's Way

2009-12-22T07:36:00.002-06:00

As some of my readers know, I lost my Dad back in 2001. He was 89. Dad had spent many years in "The Hawaiian Islands" during World War II and was a survivor of Pearl Harbor. The "Islands" always held a special place in Dad's memory. In 1977, at the age of 65, Dad traveled back to Honolulu to visit his memories. He brought back the photo at the right taken shortly after the traditional lei greeting.

In my current job, my supervisor is also from Hawaii. Our team cubicles are decorated with plastic lei and "island" references are used to motivate us or describe our team. I'm reminded often about Dad's passion for all things Polynesian.

As Christmas approaches, I can't help but think about Dad and Mom not being around anymore, but looking on this picture always makes me smile. Dad always looks like a kid opening a present on Christmas morning. (And the pretty wahine probably has something to do with it)

So, for Dad; Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say
On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you
From the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way
To say "Merry Christmas to you".

Yes Virgina, I Still Believe In Santa Claus

2009-12-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

In 1897, eight year old Virginia O'Hanlon asked her father if there really was a Santa Claus. Had Mr. Hanlon had access to the Internet he may have told his daughter to "google" it; but lacking 21st Century technology, Mr. Hanlon told his daughter to write to the "New York Sun", a prominent New York City newspaper at the time, assuring her that "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." (I suppose we would need to check at Snopes.com these days.)

But in September of 1897, Francis Pharcellus Church took on the responsibility of answering Virgina's question. If Mr. Church was alive today, I'm sure he'd have a large Twitter following. Mr. Church considered the question and made history with his answer to the little girl. Mr. Church made Virgina, The Sun readers, and for over a 112 years; he still makes us all believe in Santa Claus.

FROM THE SUN:

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?"

VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

YES VIRGINIA, I STILL BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS!

"Sunday Thoughts"

2009-12-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

"Please, celebrate me home,
Give me a number,
please, celebrate me home
Play me one more song,
That I'll always remember,
and I can recall,
whenever I find myself too all alone,
I can sing me home."

--Kenny Loggins, Celebrate Me Home

Photo by Kaarel Taam