A Very Merry Christmas Contest

Remarkable Santa

Submitted by: GaryEldridge
Morehead, KY
Category:

Christmas Moments

Santa taking passengers for a Holiday Carriage Ride

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Tell Your Christmas Story

It was a cool but sunny day in Lexington when I stopped at the Garden Center for Christmas shopping. It turned out to be an unforgettable day in my life. Jerry Allender, dressed as Santa,was giving a carriage ride to shoppers and stopped long enough afterwards to let me take pictures. Talking with him I learned he had lost his son only two weeks ago due to a fatal seizure. I would never have known of the personal and tragic loss from the way he was wishing Merry Christmas to all and showing holiday happiness. “It’s all I can do at this point,� he said. “I have two daughters but to lose my only son has left me broken and empty. I have to work through it.� He quietly shared his grief, telling me how he had used his grand dad's old carriage to take his son's body to the grave site. At the same time he was waving and smiling and shouting words of cheer to unknowing shoppers coming and going. I’ve never known someone who has suffered such loss at this particular time of year, and yet found the will and the way to work through it all by spreading words of joy and friendship to others. A remarkable man. A remarkable story. And one I will never forget at each and every Christmas for the rest of my life.