Santa and the Shark, Plus: Contest!

This was probably the moment that this whole Santa thing jumped the shark for me. I must admit I had never considered the possibility of Santa at the racetrack. Just think - - Santa, breakfast, and a Holiday Mimosa and Bloody Mary bar. I wonder who’s driving?

Image from Maryland Jockey Club at Laurel Park

The Maryland Jockey Club seems to be of the same mind as the folks at Jason’s Wine & Spirits. Ooh, look! Santa appears to have a drink in each hand.

Tweet by Jason’s Wine and Spirits, Ellicott City*

Again I wonder: who’s driving? I highly recommend those old standbys - - cookies and milk - - for that Christmas Eve long-distance run, Mr. Claus.

As an aside: someone out there ought to write an article that begins, “The holiday season can be synonymous with cocktail season. But it doesn’t have to be.” It would be a refreshing change right now.

Other local Santa sightings include this one at Clark’s Ace Hardware in Columbia in which he seems to be considering a new paint scheme.

Image from Clark’s Ace Hardware, Columbia

And over at The Spotlight (selfie museum) at the Mall, Black Santa has been stopping by on the weekends.

Image from The Spotlight on Facebook

I’m going to leave you today with my all time favorite semi-local Santa photo, taken by a reader of the blog back in 2017. She described the scene as follows, “Santa was handing out candy canes at BWI. Lots of people around.”

Photo credit: Kristen Carrasco

I was fascinated by all the things going on in this photo and decided to have a caption contest. Only three people entered. I was crushed. I should have given them all prizes on the spot.

Entries:

1. "Santa blocks restroom access until gender and species equality is achieved." (Donna Swope)

2. "Mommy? Remember that time we were at the airport and security made Santa strip down to his boxers?" (Mickey Gomez)

3. I’m pretty sure that Entry Number Three was from loyal blog reader Jeanne Lay, but, I’m not finding it. Still looking, though.

The original prize was a 25 dollar gift certificate to the Second Chance Saloon. Alas, I cannot make good on that in 2022. The Second Chance is no more. So, this is what I’m going to do. Once I find the third entry, I’m going to make this a reader’s choice contest. Whichever of the three garners the most votes will get bragging rights and its creator will get to direct a 25 dollar donation to the charity of their choice. Look for an official announcement soon.

And if we ever get a replacement for the Second Chance Saloon I’ll take all three entrants out for an incredibly belated celebration.

*Illustration of Santa by Sara Pinsonault for Vine Pair

Comments

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 2018 . But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

Separate and Unequal

Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not. It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog