We had a great turnout for The Man that wanted to be Santa Claus at Theatre Suburbia on Saturday, November 2nd. The TIHAA members that were able to join us were: Tom and Cindy Croissant, Deloris Baugh, Gwendolyn Dickey, Lillie Brown, George Wolf, Marian and Bob Gruber, Brenda and Daryl Moss, Israel and Nora Morales, Gladys Price and Mary Brown. That only totals 14 we would have been left at Bayland Park if we had not been joined by several friends: Dora Mireles, Arretta Finley, Nancy and Bob Pulido. A few Northwest side friends met us at the restaurant and then drove to the play: Mildred Grahmann, Cindy Kubeczka, Margaret Kadlecek and Carmen Solleder. That made the headcount a whopping 22 people.

We started our evening with an Italian dinner at Fornos of Italy. A few relaxed by enjoying a little wine with their dinner. We then proceeded the short destination to Theatre Suburbia to be entertained by a delightful cast of characters. The play was a bit of a mystery/comedy of errors with a multitude of character studies/morals thrown in. The crux of the play was that there was an unknown person in a small town that dressed up like Santa Claus that seemed to know everyone’s wants or needs and he was fulfilling them. The townspeople where becoming suspicious and wondered how he could know that much about them while they knew so little about him. When all was revealed he was a millionaire working as a sacker at the local grocery where he overheard their wishes. He had always wanted to be Santa Claus, or in fact the Spirit behind the Jolly Old man. As he explained to the townspeople that what he was doing was not just for one day out of the year but a lifetime commitment. Sharing your time and gifts with others will bring you more joy than to the person that you shared them with. What is the old saying, “It is more blessed to give that it is to receive.” This was a most enjoyable evening. Not only did it bring us all together and reminded us of the Spirit of Christmas, but it also put you in the mood for the upcoming holidays.