SANTA: Important message

I truly enjoyed reading the 2017 Letters to Santa. They were a window into the souls of children living in the Coeur d’ Alene area. I have been the Santa at the Silver Lake Mall for the past seven years. Your letters for Santa enriched my heart and filled my soul with joy. Thank you!

I am writing because I feel that you left out a significant portion of those who share their wishes with Santa. For the last seven years, I spent every day from Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve listening to the hopes and dreams of the young children in the Coeur d’Alene area.

I (Santa) have been asked by several children, from several families to save a sibling from some form of cancer, to have their parents stop fighting, to bring a father/mother home from serving in the military overseas in a war zone, to finding a missing dog, cat, or other family pet, to help a family member in prison/jail. When children ask for the impossible, those items beyond the realm of Santa’s purview, it leaves a hollow in the heart of Santa Claus, and I write this letter in the hopes that this letter will leave the same hollow in the heart of Coeur d’Alene’s readers.

We all need to realize that there are many families during this time of year that are struggling with issues that cannot be addressed with material possessions. Those families need our emotional and spiritual support, and I know that our community can rise to the needs of those in both financial and emotional distress. Think of those in need during this holiday season, while we enjoy the blessings bestowed upon us.

SANTA CLAUS

(Lyndon Harriman)