It's Christmas Time In The City - My Interview With Santa

Broad & Liberty published my interview with Santa.

You can read the piece via the below link or the below text:

Paul Davis: It's Christmas time in the city — my interview with Santa

The weekend of the 13th was a bad time for Philadelphia, as dozens of victims were shot in several criminal shootings across the city.  

One bad shooting occurred near the Rothman Ice Rink in Dilworth Park on Friday night. The police suspect that both the shooters and victims are students from Freire Charter High School in Center City. Three teenagers were wounded in the shootout.

There was also a shooting in Feltonville, where one man was murdered, and four others were injured over the weekend. And there was a shooting at a sports bar in Strawberry Mansion, where one man was murdered and two others wounded. 

I was standing behind the police yellow crime scene tape at the scene of one of the shootings, watching the police gather evidence, when a large fellow came up and stood next to me. He had a huge white beard and long white hair under a red cap with white fur trimming. The big fella was dressed in a red suit with a white fur collar and cuffs. He also wore a wide black leather belt around his amble middle and black boots. 

The red suit looked like it kept him warm, but it failed to hide his girth and protruding large belly. I also noticed that he was hefting a large sack over his shoulder. Despite the grim crime scene, the big fella smiled at me as he puffed on a pipe. 

“Anyone ever tell you look like Santa Claus?” I said with a laugh as I looked at the big man. 

“Everyone, especially the children,” he replied. “For I am indeed the one and only Santa Claus.”

 I introduced myself as a writer and I asked if I could interview him.

“Sure,” he said. He stopped smiling for a moment and shook his large head sadly.

“This is a terrible thing anytime of the year, but it is even more terrible during Christmas time in the city,” Santa said. 

I agreed.

Santa pointed to a couple on a corner in Salvation Army uniforms behind a Red Kettle donation pot. One of the two rang a silver bell.

“At Christmas time there should be silver bells not silver shells,” he said as he pointed to a police officer who was picking up a shell ejected from one of the shooter’s firearms.

“Silver Bells, silver bells, it’s Christmas time in the city,” Santa sang in a deep baritone voice, which drew the attention of the crowd and the police. “Ring-a-ling, hear them ring, soon it will be Christmas Day.

“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style,” he sang. “Yet we also see dead bodies. You see strings of streetlights, even stoplights, blink of bright red and green, along with the police lights flashing.”

He took a deep puff from his pipe and then continued singing. “Still, in the air there’s a feeling of Christmas. Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile, and on every street corner you’ll hear silver bells, silver bells.” 

He stopped singing for a moment and said softly that one shouldn’t also hear gunshots ringing. 

“It’s Christmas time in the city, ring-a-ling, hear them ring. Soon it will be Christmas day,” he sang loudly. “See the shoppers rushing home with their treasures, and no doubt they are in fear of being robbed of those treasures. But children are laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile, and above all this bustle,” he sang, “We also see needless violence.”  

Santa stopped singing and took a puff from his pipe. 

“This is the time of year for loving, sharing, forgiving, and for praising the one above. It is not a time for Wild West shootouts. Don’t they realize I know who is being naughty and nice? I shall be paying them all a visit on Christmas Eve.” 

Santa then shifted the heavy bag on his shoulder and bid me farewell.

“It’s Christmas time in the city,” he sang out loud as he walked away from me. “Soon it will be Christmas Day.”

Note: With apologies to “Silver Bells” songwriters Jay Livingston and Ray Evans and those who sang the fine song over the years, such as Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell, Bing Crosby, Carol Richards, Dean Martin, and others.

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com.