I Believe

Another day another ... day. It wasn't a bad day at work. I trained a sound tech on lights. This fellow has been working for me for a couple of months. I think he has a lot of potential. Unlike some wanna be technicians he acts more than talks. All he needs is a bit more confidence and he'll be great.

I went out the other night after aikido. (pause now and take a deep breath of respect for the beloved aikido and senpai) As I was getting into my car a fellow asked me if I could give him a ride. He opened his coat to reveal a puppy. I was instantly conflicted. One shouldn't give rides to strangers. Especially dodgy looking fellows wearing bandanas with long hair in neighbourhoods known to be on the rough side. But, he had a puppy. And I don't like the feeling of being fearful. He also seemed earnest in that 'tough guy not so tough' way. He had a puppy. Nevertheless, I think I surprised both of us when I said 'sure, hop in.' It was snowing huge Christmas time flakes. The puppy was 8 weeks old. Could the scene be more Christmas spirity? He said that he wished he could do something for me in return. I told him to just pass it along. 'Like Karma' he said. 'Exactly,' I replied. He got the puppy from a man on the street. The man came up to him and asked 'Hey, do you want a puppy?' When he had said yes, the man gave him the puppy along with a bag of food. I dropped him and his puppy off at his door. The puppy's name was Maggie. His was Eddie. He was going to be working on a roof the next day. I told him to take care and remember to wear a harness. It was a brief encounter. I'm glad I was there to help and give a ride.

Last week, my girl had a birthday party to go to. The boy and I decided to catch the Santa Claus parade. We dropped the girl off at the bowling lanes and went for a slice of pizza. Then we went in search of Santa. Of course, we missed the parade. Traffic was horrible and by the time I found a place to park, the parade was over. We decided to go for a walk anyway. We crossed the canal on a culvert. We then crossed the road and made our way to the place where the parade was being dismantled. We got there just in time to see Santa come down from his sled. The boy ran over and when asked by the big man himself what he wanted for Christmas, the boy replied 'I would like a magic Christmas sleigh bell.' (for those not 'in the know' the boy was referring to the 'Polar Express.') Santa didn't quite 'get it' either and said 'ho ho ho...remember to add it to your list.' The boy and I kept walking and found a huge pile of snow -- scraping from the nearby hockey rink. I told the boy that Santa must have brought this snow from the North Pole. After a good snowball fight we went into an adjoining building. This building was hosting a huge toy sale. I told the boy that Santa must have brought along one of his warehouses.

When we finally got home it seemed that both children had had very good days. The girl had had a wonderful time bowling. The birthday girl's mother commented to me on how well behaved and polite my wee one was. When I complemented her about it in the car she said 'oh yes mommy. I was polite. I said excuse me after every burp.'

The magic of the day wasn't over yet. My brother came for a visit that night. He brought with him some boxes that he had had with him since the summer. Boxes that he was supposed to deliver to us from my dad and uncle & aunt. I finally got him to bring them over by bribing him with a chicken dinner. When I opened the first box, there lying on the top of some hand me down clothes, was a magic Christmas sleigh bell. The boy's eyes opened wide. He asked me in a hushed tone if I could hear it ring.

'Yes,' I said. 'I believe.'