December 21, 2005

Sirens on Sunday morning

It was a peaceful Sunday morning. I had just put the tea kettle on the stove, and the sleeping bodies strewn about the living room were just beginning to move. Suddenly, loud sirens came screeching down the road. From the window, I could see flashing lights, police cars, and a firetruck – all stopping at the end of my driveway. For a brief moment, I thought – oh, damn, is our house on fire?

But then I looked out see that it was just Santa Claus, terrorizing the neighborhood with loud noise and candy canes. The teenagers and kids, mostly half-dressed, rushed out to grab the free candy. The young man riding with Santa came down off the truck to talk to Blonde Niece and Drama Niece. The young cops in the patrol cars were playing with the sirens the way little kids would. One of the young men said to me, curiously, "How many kids do you have, anyhow?"

The fire department Santa never misses our house, despite the fact that we live on a deadend country road well outside Train Track Village. And despite the fact that we don't really have any little kids here either. I don't want to start rumors about Santa but I am beginning to think that he favors houses that feature teenage girls running outside in their sleepwear.

Santa

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Santa, santa, santa....

Kathryn said...

You can hardly blame him, though... ;-)

Unknown said...

Our fire department does that too. The truck goes up and down every street, handing out candy canes. I think it's very nice.

Sergei C. said...

In the small town where I spent about half my youth the fire department used to deliver toys in this way. Anyone could anonymously take a toy to the fire station and either designate a child it should go to or leave it to the department's discretion. It generally ended up that the poorer kids in town would be guaranteed a visit from Santa and a nice present this way. My mother, being my mother, lived in absolute terror that they would stop at our house some day and people would think we were poor. Full of the Christmas spirit, she was.

jo(e) said...

Sergei: That's a nice tradition. Small towns can be really good about meeting people's needs.

I have to say that the firefighters seem to enjoy doing all the holiday stuff just as much as the kids in town enjoy it. They are all volunteers and mostly pretty young. One of the firefighters told me, only partially joking, that he joined the department just so he could finally get a chance to play with the sirens and the big trucks on holidays.

Oh, and if anyone is wondering why the truck is green instead of the traditional red -- that is what happens when you live in an Irish Catholic community.

Bad Alice said...

That is so cool! I wish our fire departments were sending out Santas. I mean, what could be better than Santa AND a firetruck.

Forever Amber said...

Sweet post. I'm guessing you live in a small town. Our fire department doesn't do that.

halloweenlover said...

Tears one minute, and laughs the next. Jo(e)! You're killing me here!