Befuddled Santa Part II

I took a couple days off work this week.  I had vacation days to burn and I thought I could get a solid start to my 2011 training by taking advantage of the trails before they are buried under snow.  I didn't ride much.  My days filled with tasks so quickly that I was left wondering how I ever had time for work.

Last year Allison asked Santa for a code activated deadbolt for her bedroom and, even though it made no sense, he did not disappoint.  This year she asked for an I-Touch.  Santa spent the day trying to set it up with her songs and configuring it to her email, facebook, and our wireless router.  He has a good heart but is technologically inept.  He spent the morning just trying to load I-Tunes on his computer.

The Santa I gave my list to 30-some years ago would not have put up with these shenanigans.  He was a stick German Engineer and wonderfully practical when it came to gifts.  Had I asked for an I-Touch, and if they were invented, he would have pointed out that there were plenty of MP3 players out there that play music for much less.  Anyway, I had to hide my Rush albums under the bed like most boys hide their Playboys.  My daughters have a gentler and less practical Santa.

Santa really did come through when I was 11.  I wanted a BMX bike, one I could race.  Every bicycle I had up to that point was pulled out of the neighbors' trash by Santa.  But Christmas of '78 Santa left me a beautiful high end Raleigh Rampar.  Back then it was popular to drill out any possibly unnecessary metal, around the chain ring, brake levers, frame gussets, etc.  My bike was carefully drilled out by a bike shop mechanic, metallic paint and gold anodized parts. That was 33 years ago.  I still think about it every Christmas.