Speaker 1: And we continue with our American stories. And it's Christmas
Speaker 1: season and we're delivering you Christmas stories. Next, we have
Speaker 1: Roger Latham from Fort Worth, Texas telling us a Christmas story.
Speaker 1: He's titled The Real Center. Let's take a listen.
Speaker 2: It was a Monday evening when, while driving home from
Speaker 2: the office on a cold December day, I turned on
Speaker 2: the local radio station, eager to listen to some Christmas music.
Speaker 2: I heard being Seeing White Christmas, nat Offer Old Holy Night,
Speaker 2: and Elvis Paint the color of blue things fluffy snow.
Speaker 2: It was great. Then came a break in the melodic
Speaker 2: melodies of the season, and an announcer came on the air.
Speaker 2: Let's hope you all are ready for a wonderful Christmas
Speaker 2: and that our music is helping create the magic of
Speaker 2: the season. One family in our city is, however, in
Speaker 2: need of some help. He called in today and told
Speaker 2: us his eight year old son asked Santa for a bicycle,
Speaker 2: and then he had no money to buy one. Can
Speaker 2: anyone help? If there is a Santa in our audience,
Speaker 2: please call? He gave the number. His words were a
Speaker 2: bold pulled across my Christmas strata varius, and I called Hello,
Speaker 2: I'll provide the bike. Where's it gold? The man on
Speaker 2: the radio thanked me and gave me the address. I
Speaker 2: scribbled it on a scrap of paper in my front seat.
Speaker 2: On the following Friday, as my eight year old son
Speaker 2: and I were watching some television, my precocious ten year
Speaker 2: old daughter entered the room and offered a grand pronouncement,
Speaker 2: I figured it out. Her statement came with a strong
Speaker 2: willed conviction of adolescence. Oh really, what if you figure
Speaker 2: it out now, darling, there is no Santa. It's you
Speaker 2: and mom. I glanced at my son to Gage's reaction.
Speaker 2: The look on his face portrayed a mix of shock, concern,
Speaker 2: and a touch of panic. His older sister had just
Speaker 2: violated the ancient rules of Santa Claus. I had to
Speaker 2: think fast, being a salesman by trade and well versed
Speaker 2: into spelling the objections of the disbelieving, I mustered a
Speaker 2: quick retort, Sweetie, you're wrong Sata Israel, and I'll introduce
Speaker 2: you to him tomorrow. She scoffed with a snort and
Speaker 2: left the room. On Saturday, I loaded the family of
Speaker 2: my Honda and we headed to the Northeast mall. As
Speaker 2: we entered sears. Candy said, I've already been to see
Speaker 2: this Santa. Remember I sat on his lap told him
Speaker 2: what I wanted. That's not the real Santa. I said, Okay, now,
Speaker 2: you kids, go pick out the best boy bike you
Speaker 2: can find, one that an eight year old boy about
Speaker 2: your brother's size would like. In ten minutes, they returned
Speaker 2: with a shiny red bike sporting a banana seat and
Speaker 2: raised handlebars. How's this, dad, my son asked, Do you
Speaker 2: like it? That's all that matters. Now go pick out
Speaker 2: another nice gift you'd like to receive from Santa. They
Speaker 2: scurried off and picked another present and returned with a
Speaker 2: large remote control truck. I paid for the merchandise and
Speaker 2: we headed to the car. It was time to make
Speaker 2: our way to the classroom and a tutorial over the
Speaker 2: real Santa. The apartment complex was easy to find. It
Speaker 2: sat in the sedious part of Arlington, Texas. The cars
Speaker 2: parked on the street were lapid wrecks in desperate need
Speaker 2: of major dent repair and gallons of paint. Upon finding
Speaker 2: the right address, I parked and loaded the vehicle of kids,
Speaker 2: bike and truck. Okay, daughter, you rolled a bike and
Speaker 2: let your brother carry the truck. Arriving at the apartment door,
Speaker 2: I knocked moments past, and a man the size of
Speaker 2: a Dallas cowboy lineman must have been six foot five,
Speaker 2: two hundred and ninety pounds, swung open the door. Boy,
Speaker 2: you lost or something? This ain't exactly You're part of town.
Speaker 2: His gruff tone softened as he noticed the bike. What's that?
Speaker 2: A babe in a manger sent me over and told
Speaker 2: me to bring this bike, I said. I motioned for
Speaker 2: my son and disbelieving daughter to deliver the bike in
Speaker 2: the toy. As they did, the giant man, whose name
Speaker 2: I never learned, seemed to melt before my eyes. Tears
Speaker 2: fl down his face, and he hugged me. Then the kids,
Speaker 2: Thank you, sir, this is a fine blessing. He then
Speaker 2: turned to the kids, thank you too, my little ones,
Speaker 2: and Merry Christmas. His voice broke without further discussion. Santa
Speaker 2: and his troop of elves bit a Merry Christmas ide
Speaker 2: and headed back to the car. With everyone now installed
Speaker 2: and buckled in, it was time for me to finish
Speaker 2: the lesson. So, dear daughter, is Santa real? Her eyes
Speaker 2: were teary and she stammered, yes, yes, yes, Daddy, it's you, No, sweetie,
Speaker 2: Santa Claus is a spirit dwelling in every man and
Speaker 2: woman of good faith who do for others that which
Speaker 2: they cannot do for themselves. One day, I expect you
Speaker 2: and your brother to show the world your Santa. My children,
Speaker 2: now in their forties, still believe and will one day
Speaker 2: teach my grandchildren how about today they met the real Sanna,
Speaker 2: passing on their understanding of Christmas, the real Christmas. Merry
Speaker 2: Christmas to all and made the spirit of Sannah bless
Speaker 2: us all this year.
Speaker 1: And a great job on the production by Greg Hangler
Speaker 1: and a special thanks to Roger Latham from Fort Worth,
Speaker 1: Texas for sharing this story and we can see it,
Speaker 1: we can conjure it in our heads. That is the
Speaker 1: power of spoken word. In the end, the pictures are
Speaker 1: better because they're yours. And that moment where the sort
Speaker 1: of gruff guy just starts breaking down and crying, then
Speaker 1: going back to the car and asking his daughter his kids,
Speaker 1: is Santa real and that daughter with tears in her
Speaker 1: eyes saying yes, yes, yes, and the ending it's so beautiful.
Speaker 1: I expect you and your brother to show the world
Speaker 1: your Sanna, and my goodness. Yes, the American people. We
Speaker 1: show our Sana to the world. Every year, four hundred
Speaker 1: and fifty billion dollars a year we give. That's more
Speaker 1: than the GDP of almost all the countries in the world.
Speaker 1: But for thirty and we give away even more impressively,
Speaker 1: nine billion hours of our time. The story of Roger Latham,
Speaker 1: the real Sanna here on Our American Stories. Leehibib here
Speaker 1: the host of Our American Stories. Every day on this show,
Speaker 1: we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories
Speaker 1: from our big cities and small towns. But we truly
Speaker 1: can't do the show without you. Our stories are free
Speaker 1: to listen to, but they're not free to make. If
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