Nothing fake about that beard

From time to time haivng semi-celebrity status in this small town has its perks. Using her newspaper connections, my coworker Lisa managed to book the Real Santa for her daughter's sixth birthday party this weekend, despite his busy holiday schedule. And, thanks primarily to the proximity of my desk to Lisa's (plus the fact that I was sitting there when Mrs. Claus called to make the arrangements), Sawyer was invited to young Rachel's party. The hair, the beard and even the belly that shakes like a bowl fully of jelly are all real. (I think Santa gave up his pipe in the wake of the tabacco industry trials.) The Real Santa, we learned, drives a Chevy on non-holidays. Anyway, Sawyer had no idea what he wanted for Christmas, except for maybe his pacifier, which I pulled from his mouth seconds before snapping this shot.