So maybe it wasn't so funny anymore. Then I thought about Christmas at my grandmother's house when I was young. Of curling up between the fireplace and the Christmas tree under my sleeping bag with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk nearby. I just wanted to see Santa like millions of other children have done and continue to do. But sleep always got the better of me before he came. I remembered watching my own kids perform the same rituals and how I felt somehow small in comparison to their innocence and faith.
When the ice is gone all that will be over. After all, how could Santa live at the North Pole if it is open ocean? The smallest kids might still believe things were the way they always have been but how long could you lie to them? For that matter should you lie to them? It just wouldn't be right.
I know that Santa does have options. He could send his Elves back to Middle Earth and relocate his workshop to China in order to take advantage of cheap labor. He could partner with Wal-Mart to distribute his toys and he could get rich. But that isn't the Santa we know, is it?
On the other hand, many "extremist" religious folk have been trying to get rid of Santa for some time and return the season to its Judeo-Christian roots. Coincidentally enough, some of those same folk have been complaining that Santa is hurting capitalism by dumping his huge load of free toys onto the market every year at Christmas time and damaging the bottom line of a few major corporations.
So maybe it is better then if we just let Santa go. Our kids can begin sending their Christmas wish lists to Sam Walton at the address "Heaven". If they include their parent's "magical" Visa number with their order they can have the Elves at FedEx deliver their presents while they are at school. At that point Jesus and heaven, along with uncontrolled commercialism, will be restored to Christmas and all will be well in a warming world.
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