City Views, Country Dreams

Good evening from New York.

Do you all know that tune, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and in particular, perhaps, Bruce Springsteen's recording? Please do think of it as you continue reading.

I return to work tomorrow, after two weeks' off, during which I have had a wonderful vacation in my home city. It is a wonderful time of year hereabouts.

Early this afternoon, I walked over to the subway station, in order to travel downtown to take care of a few of my own Santa Claus projects.

And. What did I see but a scattering of folks wearing either Santa or elf outfits hanging out around the subway station. I was so glad to have my camera with me.

I could tell that I was not the only person puzzled by this collection of cheery young folks dressed mostly in red. If we were in a cartoon, we would all have had balloons containing question marks over our heads.

As I looked towards Central Park I must have seen hundreds of Santas heading my way, or rather heading for the subway station. Hundreds! It was wonderful!

By this time some information was beginning to spread, and it turned out that this mass Santa event has been launched around this time of year for a few years. The idea is to dress up, meet up in Central Park, sing some Christmas tunes, and then sort of head out into other parts of New York, generally spreading cheer.

Some Santas went for the patriotic look, some for the romantic, some for the downright funny or even sexy.

It was hilarious to see these hundreds, yes hundreds, of Santa folks entering the subway, waiting for subway trains. Definitely not an ordinary pre-holiday Saturday.

These smart young Santas all seemed to have a Metrocard in a handy pocket to allow them quick entry through the turnstiles.

And, they were very gracious in allowing mere fellow travelers to enter the station and catch the next train.

This was such unexpected seasonal fun. On my subway car, an ad hoc Santa sing along commenced, not always on key, trying its best to remember each and every line to The Twelve Days of Christmas. They were best at Five Golden Rings.

And they got to the last line of the song just as that express train arrived at Times Square, and all the assembled Santas dispersed to spread some fun around town.

This is an example of why I do so love New York.

Best wishes.