A Year As St. Nicholas

     So, this past winter, while in our little home in New Mexico, I finished the last page of Stella. Now, I'm editing and revising that graphic novel on computer. This meant that I'd have nothing to work on in hard copy. In other words, I had room to begin another one.

     One of my partner's and my traditions during the winter holidays is to read Christmas stories aloud. She reads them aloud to me from a book called A Treasury of Christmas Stories or something like that. Some of the stories are religious. Those are okay. But the stories I like the best are ones about Santa Claus. I grew up reveling in the magic of Christmas trees, holly, and mysterious presents that showed up on Christmas morning, given to me by some guy just because.

     I've been curious about this guy, and the stories in the Treasury actually answer some of my questions. Santa Claus is this humble, laid back, joyous guy whose only goal in life is to end people's suffering and make everyone, especially children, happy. Cool. 

     I was so taken with this being, I wondered, "What would it be like if I tried to be humble, laid back, and joyous? What if my main drive was to end people's suffering whenever I could? What if I could be St. Nick for a year?"

     So, A Year As St. Nicholas is a diary of my attempt to embody the spirit of the guy. Unlike Stella and A Donkey in the Garden, A Year As St. Nicholas has no wrapped up story I'm merely retracing. Because I'm recording my "saintly" responses to incidents as they occur, I can't predict what the next page will be like. I'm not in control of this one.

Me leaving the store with new St. Nicholas outfit.