Thursday, December 22, 2005, The Pointe Coupee Banner----Front page, Christmas In Our Hometown: A holiday message from the Gautreaux family. What a special time of year. The signs, the smells, the joy of families coming together and most of all, the joy of the greatest gift of all--Jesus Christ. Such a simple child born in a stable and placed in a manger under clear, crisp skies with wise men guided to Him by a bright star in the sky. Gifts they lay at His feet. Even the little drummer boy gave his gift of music in a most humble way. The Christmas tradition of gift-giving was at that time born also, in my humble opinion. In time, Santa Claus was also born which gave kids an image to hold on to and parents a tool to assist them in teaching their children to be good. Many times,my momma told me You better be good, Santas coming, youll see! Oh, how I longed to see Santa, never did though. I reminded myself of the little mouse Sniffles on the cartoon Buckskin Bill would play at Christmas. Remember him? He thought for sure he would get to see Santa by drinking lots of coffee, but heavy eyelids would always take over and he would fall into a deep winters sleep. Naturally, Santa would always come around the curve just as Sniffles got all warm and cozy in his bed. Being 53 years old, Im still waiting to see Santa in person. The closest I ever came was about the middle of November/December 2005. One of my daughters lives next door. She has a 12-year-old son, (Continued on page 7) Randy, and a set of twins, Shannen and jesse, 6. Now in todays modern world, Santa works through a network. I know all kids, both young and old realize this. While it is impossible for Santa and his helpers to personally visit everyone, it does happen sometimes. It has nothing to do with being good or bad throughout the year. Santa has a merry ole soul. My daughter received a phone call one morning from a Mr. Mike Herbert. He told her that he was indeed one of Santas helpers and he was in charge of making contacts with parents and it was quite possible that he or an associate Santa helper may be paying a personal visit to their home this year. My daughter was somewhat surprised. He further explained to her that the Kiwanis of New Roads was indeed one of Santas many networks, and they were picked for a personal delivery this year by Santa. He told her to expect a follow-up call in a few days. Sure enough. A few days later another call came from Mr. John Lewis. He explained who he was and asked my daughter to compile a wish list of items her children wanted for Christmas. He told her tolist clothing sizes as well as and he would come by in a few days to pick it up. Naturally my daughter told her momma about this and she passed it on to me. Wow I thought, I will finally get to meet one of Santas real helpers. I bet Sniffles would have given up two cups of coffee for that privilege I hung around the house in anticipation that Santas helper would soon be there. Would you believe that Mr.Lewis came by when I was not home. Somehow in my mind, I could see and hear Sniffles pointing his little finger at me and giggling. A few days later my daughter got a phone call from Mr.Lewis. They were at a local business picking up items on the wish list and he had a question or two to ask about a particular item. This just proves how well Santa has trained all his helpers. They are indeed true professionals. A couple of weeks went by, then again the phone rang. Mr. Lewis told my daughter that they would make delivery on December the 15th at 10 a.m. Jeez, Santa himself was arranging this so I would know the specifics of the visit. Finally I would get to actually see a real helper with my own eyes. (How bout dat, Sniffles?) Lo and behold, would you believe that at my own suggestion, I made an appointment for 9 a.m. that morning to complete a sound system installation at a new church in the Port Allen area. I completely forgot about the delivery. Obviously, Sniffles does have connections. No matter though. My daughter told me that Mr. and Mrs. (John and Rosemary) Lewis pulled up in a modern day Santas sleigh while wearing everyday clothes, just like everyone, and unloaded beautiful gifts for her children, which will surely bring much joy to them on Christmas morning.She is so thankful for this act of kindness and good will. Now my wife, bless her soul, tried her best to get a picture for me, but just like the ole lady on that TV commercial, the stapler she was holding had no film. Oh, well, Sniffles can laugh at her too. Being the humble grandparents that we are, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the folks responsible for this wonderful expression of kindness and good will. It just goes to prove that good people do exist in todays world. It also proves that even at 53 years young, I still believe in Santa. Wealth cannot be measured in dollars. My daughter does not have many dollars left after paying her bills. She is very wealthy, however, because Santa chose her children for a personal visit this year. Thank you so very much to the Kiwanis of New Roads-please accept a heartfelt Merry Christmas from us to all, our grandchildren. We would also like to leave this message to all kinds, both young and old alike: Please remember that God gave us all the greatest gift of all, his only son Jesus Christ. From this gift of life, Christmas was born. Always keep Christ in Christmas, but also keep Santa as well. Through him, we can share gifts and good will as well. Above all, continue to believe in both because one day, you will see both Christ and Santa. Just look around. They are everywhere, every day. What a pity some people cannot see the truth. Thanks again, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gautreaux Sr. as well as kids and grandkids. By the way: Thanks also to Tommy Comeaux and the Pointe Coupee Banner for this publication.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 03:14:45 +0000
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