While I was digging through the family photo archive, I found an 8 x 10 picture of an old friend, a very old friend - Santa Claus.

Yes! Santa was a friend of mine... and he still is.

He used to give me fantastic toys every Christmas – a submarine with torpedoes that fired from the bow, a race car set, and a Lionel train. Sometimes, he would give me a model car to build during my Christmas vacation.

Now that I'm older, Santa has cut back a little. But he still knows what I like. We still keep in touch.

Story and Cover Illustration Copyright © 2024 by Michael DeFrancesco