THE GIFT OF A WARM HEART (4 OF 4)
by Jeff Strite
Scripture: Luke 2:21-40
This content is part of a series.
The Gift of a Warm Heart (4 of 4)
Series: The Promises of Christmas
Jeff Strite
Luke 2: 21-40
AP story reported in the Indianapolis Star 12/25/99
Dateline LOS ANGELES - A shopping mall Santa Claus had a meltdown after refusing to cuddle a bawling toddler, calling the mother evil and ripping off his beard and costume in front of startled children.
Kelly Fornatoro, 33, said she told Santa her 19 month old son, Brian, would stop crying if he put his arm around the child. According to her, he balked and told her, ''I will not imprison your child.''
''When I went to pick up the baby, he said: 'Was it worth it? Was it worth it for you to torture your child for a picture? You must be an evil person.'''
The woman then told Santa she planned to file a complaint.
At this, she said, the man leaped from his throne and said: ''You can complain about me if you want, but I am Santa Claus. I am the best person in the world. I am good.''
The mother then told Santa he should not be around children.
''With that, he got really angry,'' she explained to the paper. ''He started to rip off his clothes. He took off his beard, his wig, his coat, his belt.''
Some stunned parents covered their children's eyes.
Santa was then led away by security guards, and a replacement was brought in. Westfield Shopping-town Promenade Mall and Cherry Hill Photo (suppliers of the Santa) wouldn't give his name.
YOU COULD SAY this Santa was stressed out. In fact, I've heard that Christmas can be a very stressful time of year for a lot of people.
Last Thursday I heard Paul Harvey tell of a man in England who had rented an old bomb shelter. His intention was to stay there from the middle of December until sometime in early January. His purpose: to escape Christmas. Paul Harvey said that the sad thing was - there were 49 others in line behind him wanting to do exactly the same thing.
Why would these people go to such lengths to avoid Christmas? I believe it was due to stress. I mean ...
Series: The Promises of Christmas
Jeff Strite
Luke 2: 21-40
AP story reported in the Indianapolis Star 12/25/99
Dateline LOS ANGELES - A shopping mall Santa Claus had a meltdown after refusing to cuddle a bawling toddler, calling the mother evil and ripping off his beard and costume in front of startled children.
Kelly Fornatoro, 33, said she told Santa her 19 month old son, Brian, would stop crying if he put his arm around the child. According to her, he balked and told her, ''I will not imprison your child.''
''When I went to pick up the baby, he said: 'Was it worth it? Was it worth it for you to torture your child for a picture? You must be an evil person.'''
The woman then told Santa she planned to file a complaint.
At this, she said, the man leaped from his throne and said: ''You can complain about me if you want, but I am Santa Claus. I am the best person in the world. I am good.''
The mother then told Santa he should not be around children.
''With that, he got really angry,'' she explained to the paper. ''He started to rip off his clothes. He took off his beard, his wig, his coat, his belt.''
Some stunned parents covered their children's eyes.
Santa was then led away by security guards, and a replacement was brought in. Westfield Shopping-town Promenade Mall and Cherry Hill Photo (suppliers of the Santa) wouldn't give his name.
YOU COULD SAY this Santa was stressed out. In fact, I've heard that Christmas can be a very stressful time of year for a lot of people.
Last Thursday I heard Paul Harvey tell of a man in England who had rented an old bomb shelter. His intention was to stay there from the middle of December until sometime in early January. His purpose: to escape Christmas. Paul Harvey said that the sad thing was - there were 49 others in line behind him wanting to do exactly the same thing.
Why would these people go to such lengths to avoid Christmas? I believe it was due to stress. I mean ...
There are 14654 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
