Santacon 2023

By Arnold J. Mungioli

 ’Twas an unseasonably warm afternoon, [two weeks] before Christmas, and all through the [park]… I found myself clearly overdressed, but dressing in layers was an option for me only to a limited degree – the suit is the suit. I was expected to look a certain way, and I respected that.  If one has a message to deliver, it is often wisest to appear in whatever image the recipient will be most able to receive it from you. Dressed for success, I sat on the park bench and waited. It would not be long.

~~~

“Coolest Day of the Whole Freakin’ Year! It takes a certain kind of guy to pull it off!” he thought to himself as he combed his hair looking at his reflection in the mirror that morning. This simple black plastic comb had been a gift from his mother in his Christmas Stocking when he was a young boy, and it’s the one he always used. She had noticed when he began to take some pride in his appearance, and she helped him along. He kept it on the Lucite shelf above the sink next to a quartz crystal that an ex had left behind. He remembered that the crystal was supposed to have special powers – he didn’t believe that, yet there was some sliver of doubt: what if he’d just not yet discovered its powers? So, he never got rid of it, just in case.

Pleased with what he saw in the mirror, he gave himself two thumbs up sticking out his tongue; then, pointing his camera to the mirror, he proclaimed out loud an exclamation of self-praise that some might have thought overrated. “I’m awesome,” he declared with the confidence of a guy who knows he is lacking, but still takes a good photo of himself for social media. Click. Post.

He oozed confidence today. He had downloaded the app. He had started drinking at 10am. He’d been working out to get ready for this. He even got the Santacon badge which boasted that his fifteen bucks went to all the cool charities supported by Santacon, such as Burning Man!

~~~

Christmas celebrates giving. If one maintains a limited understanding of what giving can do to transform human beings and transform the world, then the true magic of the season may be lost on a person. He kept his nose mostly into his phone, brokering deals and making money even as he drank – in cases of such behavior, the magic of life itself may be lost on a person.

(more…)