here comes Santa Claus

Christmas is here as much as it's going to be here, says me. Bob and I were walking the pups Saturday night when we spied a big hoo-ha going on at the Catholic school on the bayou. Spotlights were flashing and a crowd had assembled.

As usual, I wanted to go towards the crowd and Bob wanted to move away from it. So he stayed on the edge while I, accompanied by my trusty dog Maggy, ventured into the fray. We found a bunch of schoolkids and their parents watching a small girls' choir singing Xmas songs. Their voices were fairly weak but pretty. Maggy got plenty of attention from the kids who all wanted to pet her--Pyro, like his daddy, prefers to stay out of the limelight.

Then I heard the emcee announce that Santa was coming down the bayou in his pirogue. (For you un-Cajun types, a pirogue is the swampland term for a canoe) He's kidding, I said to myself, as such a sight would be too strange even for New Orleans.

Of course I was wrong. For what to my wandering eyes did appear but five canoes floating down the bayou clear. Decked with red and green Christmas lights, the canoes came single file, the last one towing a boat where Jolly Old St. Nick sat! Like the rest of the crowd, Maggy and I moved to the shore to greet Santa. Strangely, Santa didn't have any toys in his boat, but a child next to me said that Santa was coming to take orders. We'd have to wait until Christmas Eve for our toys. With Santa's shaky disembarkment from his pirogue, though, I was a little worried about getting my toys. For if Santa fell into the soup, surely he'd get eaten by a gator and Christmas would be destroyed. Fortunately, the old guy made it safely. He staggered up to the mike, a little winded from his excursion, and the emcee had to remind him to wish the crowd a Merry Christmas, but Santa was on the bayou and that's what counts.

On our way home, we wandered by Chad and Michael's house. Another surprise--they finally got their FEMA trailer! It had towels, blankets, dishes: the works! They weren't supposed to use it, as they were instructed to wait for another FEMA subcontractor to hook up the electricity, but an extension cord fixed that dilemma. (Did you know it takes 4 different crews to install a trailer? No wonder no one has them yet.) I believe they're going to have a trailer-warming soon, so I've been scouring the trash for cans of Campbells' Cream of Mushroom for a trailerworthy recipe. No luck yet, but the Red Cross did bring Jello for lunch, which I'm saving for their party.

It was an evening of miracles. My only concern now is that Santa can get to us in Vermont, where Bobby and I will be on Christmas Eve. Will his pirogue filled with toys be able to navigate through the snow? Let's pray that Santa has a backup plan.