By Kenneth David "Sparky" Thomasson
This is a letter written over thirty years ago by the father of Leean Lester (the Palmistry Lady). We’re touched to share it with you! Leean’s father, Kenneth David Thomasson, was an electrician and a supply sargent in the U.S. Army.
Dear Santa,
You probably don’t remember me, but I remember you from many years ago. I used to write you letters. I know it’s a little late in the season to submit my list, but it occurred to me today that I’m missing a lot of the toys I had many years ago, and I need them now. You know how kids break toys, or lose them, or wear them out. I’ve broken, lost, or worn out the best stuff I had when I was a youngster.
I had a thing, called “kindness,” that turned brittle with age. It was pliable when I was very young, but it, and I, hardened together and I replaced it with a toy called “so what,” which was much easier to operate, but generally unsatisfactory. Look around and see if you have some more of that stuff in the back room.
The twin toys of concern and tolerance were great things to play with because I could show them off to all of my friends. But they didn’t hold up too well, and I’m sad to admit that they have broken several times when the playing got rough. I would prefer something with permanent colors that won’t fade in the sun of complacency or wash out in the flood of popular opinion.
“Hope,” I recall, was like a stuffed teddy bear you could sleep with; I always kept that very close. But it wore thin through the years, and the stuffing leaked out and the eyes got pulled off. Sometimes I can’t make it stand up without propping it against some solid object, and solid objects are getting harder to find. It’s a very important toy to own, but if you don’t have a new one, I would be just as happy if you would put some more stuffing in the old one and stiffen the legs a little so it stands alone, and pin the eyes back on it so it can see.
Colored lights on a Christmas tree--that was a big favorite of mine, but I buy those in the store. But they never shine as brightly or look so colorful as they did so long ago. There was a wonder in them then, but perhaps it might have been the angle of sight. I was looking up at them in those days, and now I look straight at them. Maybe that’s why they’re smaller and duller, while the stars always stay the same. Please bring me brighter lights like you used to, or tell me the proper angle from which to view the lights I have.
I’m asking for these gifts because I need them, not because I deserve them. If you brought those things only to those who deserve them, you’d work a short shift.
And that brings me to the question you never answered to my satisfaction. How do you visit all the homes in the world in a single night? I hope that you do this again this year, and use this gift list for all the grownups who think they have outgrown the best toys they ever had.
Signed,
A grownup who hopes they haven’t learned too late!