Oh! That was my back!

OK, lets get one thing straight. Santa is a "Jolly Old Elf" with the emphasis on OLD (no jokes please). Court, be nice! More on that later.

Now to the meat of the "why" we are here... Today we had a short shift and did 422 photos. (Thanks, Bobby - he's Santa's relief). I will need to post a photo of Bobby with a short Bio., because you will NOT believe it. (I need his OK first.) Today we also had a couple of dogs - a Pug pup, a beautiful Golden Lab, and a dog the owner said was too valuable for me to hold (Santa thinks that's not possible).

Oh man, we had a screamer today! I heard that little girl long before she was near me (Cindi Elf scared her, I think). Anyway, mom wanted a picture no matter what... Well, the little darling let out a high-pitched scream that I believe only a dog could hear and ME. (Mom did not; that I am sure of.) I said NO WAY am I going to hold her, mom gave me a dirty look, and said she would hold her next to me. I did not like that idea, but I also knew mom would not let it go. So I stayed in my chair, and very deliberately plugged my left ear. What do you think happened Ollie???

You guessed it! It did no good and the high-pitched shrill went through Santa like a warm knife through warm butter. I jumped to the right and almost tipped the chair over. Well, we kept at it and with both ears covered and people laughing, she gave up... I don't know if I ever said this before, but I will NEVER understand that stuff.

OK, now to finish my thought from above... I usually don't pick up large children, but Santa was accommodating and hurt his upper back. I did as I normally do and used my leg, but to steady him I used my body also... Thankfully Christmas is almost here.

Oh, and Yes, do say "Merry Christmas" to everybody (none of the "happy holidays" stuff). So with that in your ears, Santa would like a NAP.

See you in the daylight,

Santa Joe