Don't Stop Believing!

Yes, I know that this didn't get posted by midnight; that's why it has the 20th instead of the 19th of December. So what? Get over it.

I want to start by saying that I am not a Glee follower (and I never will be), so to those who are too young to remember the non-Glee version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," this one is better, and involves less fake drama.

Now, for today's back story. Today we had our school's Christmas assembly, and yours truly had to play the fat man in the red suit. (I'm still convinced that I was asked due to my jolly personality and not my bowl full of jelly.) The final portion of the assembly involved students performing a 30-second talent in front of the student body (aptly named SFJHS Has Talent). I, dressed as St. Nick, sat at the judge's table sweating and making dumb comments (as seen on TV). Most performances were mediocre at best. One such was a girl who played the piano and sang a snippet of this song. It wasn't the best performance of the day, or even one of the "honorable" mentions. However, one smart-aleck comment I made has attached itself to my thoughts with tentacles, tow cables, bubble gum, and crazy glue.

In jest I said, "Don't you stop believing, because when you stop believing, you start getting socks and underwear for Christmas." Of course, I was playing the Santa bit and it got a good laugh. I was referring to believing in Santa Claus, but I'm not sure the audience got it. The chuckles probably came because I said "underwear." Before this bit Santa had been a little sullen as he had been pondering an earlier event, one that not everyone witnessed.

You see, in the second assembly, I had run up and down the aisles of the crowd throwing candy to the students, high-fiving them, ho-ho-hoing merrily along, and all that Kris Kringle stuff (just as I had done in the first one). But this time, two of the students started throwing the candy back at me (along with muttered Scrooge-esque insults). One doofus even decided it would be cool to pull off my itchy white beard and ruin the show for the other 600 onlookers. I just played it off, reattaching the nylon itchiness, unable to identify the perpetrator due to the bright spotlight shining in my eyes. And then on my way back to the stage, someone else yanked my hat from my head.

Sidenote: I was later told that the morons were dealt with. It's turds like these that give junior high punks their bad name (That, their nasty body odor, raging hormones, and gangly limbs.). There are at least three or four little boys whose names have shifted over to the naughty list.

But back to my point: most people love believing in something positive like Mr. Claus. The jolly old elf symbolizes and encapsulates what's good in the world--love, giving, caring, happiness (and Coca Cola and eating cookies and plumpness...). So why do some idiots feel it's their right to dash the hopes and good cheer of others? Because it's funny? We all know that it only takes one imbecile to wreck the party. So, all you haters, leave Santa alone.

It reminds me of another time when I was in Spain. I was walking down a street in Granada, caroling with a few companions, I in a Santa hat. And then a couple of punks zoomed by on a moto. The twerp in back snatched the cap from my head as he sped by, laughing and flipping obscene gestures. I was so mad that someone had chased away the holiday spirits and disturb my Christmassy mood that I punched a concrete retaining wall out of frustration--not something I normally recommend. All I wanted was to bask in the Christmas glow of the season. Not cool.

But I'm taking the symbolism further than Journey ever did in their love song, or this morning as I did with the Santa stuff. One of the most profound, motivational messages (ever) would be to never stop believin' in whatever or whoever it is you believe in. Lately, I've seen friends lose faith, lose face, lose jobs, lose their keys, lose their lunch, lose family members, and flat out lose hope. In this crazy mixed-up world, we all need to keep on believing that we can make it through another day. Believe that we are significant--to ourselves, to our friends, to our family, to our community, and to our Maker. Let's believe in each other, have a little faith in our fellow man (dare I say our politicians), and our world. Let's allow ourselves and others to be happy-truly happy; none of this fleeting nonsensical instant-gratification crap!

A passage of scripture comes to mind. I won't take the time to retype the whole thing, but I'll post the link to Mosiah 4: 6-12. The whole chapter is great, but these verses resonate in my soul tonight.

I know I've gone off and preached a little, but in the spirit of Christmas (on multiple levels), "Don't Stop Believin'!"