Merry Christmas!
Today's photo was taken at the iconic Santa in front of Friendly Center. We stopped to get a feature for GDP when the above couple, Lorrie and John, her husband of 30 years, were approaching the Santa. As it turns out, Lorrie and her three brothers grew up on Onslow Avenue, just a few blocks from Friendly Center. Seeing the larger-than-life, fiberglass Santa was one of their annual Christmas rituals. One year, when Lorrie came home for winter break during college, Santa was not on display. He was out out for repairs. Lorrie wrote a letter to the newspaper expressing her disappointment. Lorrie's 3rd brother died last December and her parents are also deceased; so now that it is just Lorrie and John, visiting Santa together as part of their holiday tradition.
We took a photo of the happy couple so that they could have it as a 2020 memory. We got permission to use their photo to feature today. Through GDP, we meet so many wonderful people like Lorrie and John. The serendipity of the chance encounter with other people who love the city as much as we do is heartwarming.
Lorrie pointed out that Santa got a maintenance overhaul this year. We have local sculptor, Jim Gallucci to thank for sprucing up Santa and replacing the box that makes it possible for Santa to wave.* Here is a photo from 2018. See if you notice any differences. Lorrie noticed them right away. May she and John have many years of continued visits, and may we all find simple traditions that fill us with love for each other and with our great city.
* read about the repairs in the News & Record, here.
That is one big Santa.
Posted by: William Kendall | Friday, December 25, 2020 at 06:13 AM