as you can read the character of the parents in the actions
of their children (a statement which the parents of some
children would like to disclaim and probably will).
But about those letters to Santa Claus: all of
them, in whatever manner, asked for things. And that's
goodl In fact, the writing of letters to the jolly old man
with white beard and red suit is part of the fun of Christ-
mastime, not only for little children, but for their parents,
too, who must have been made a little nobler to have
touched such trusting faith.
So what's wrong?
What's wrong-what's so very wrong-is that
after the gifts had been received, there were NO letters to
Santa Claus, saying, "Dear Santa, THANK YOU ... "
Before Christmas, perhaps a million letters,
saying, "I want"... "bring me" -but after the gifts were
received, no letters (or just a few) saying, "THANK YOU"I
We cannot blame the little children. They can
only learn what they are taught.
But we can pause to consider what kind of
world we adults have built-where most of the emphasis
is on "1 want" and almost none on appreciation and grati-
tude. And what kind of world are we building for the
future? For it is trite but true, that as the twig is bent, so
is the tree.
Which reminds me ... I recently asked a very
busy and important business executive to do me a per-
sonal favor. It meant nothing to him but time-consuming
inconvenience, but it was urgent and important to me-
and I emphasized the urgency to such an extent that I re-