Newspaper Page Text
Timeless words
The original
Virginia turned to
a newspaper. Today,
newspapers still are
places to turn for
answers, as our three \
writers speak to a new ■
generation of believers.
To see the original 1897
letter, go online to
newseum.org/yesvirginia
V Kristy
Eckert
The Columbusj
\ Dispatch A
answers to life’s most crucial queries.
Today’s world forces you to be sophisticated
beyond your eight short years, Virginia, so let me be straight. People will
lie to you, no matter how genuine your smiles. They will work to convince
you that clouds don’t make shapes, that no one hears your wishes when
you blow out your birthday candles, that Santa Claus isn’t real.
But challenge them to prove that such beauty does not exist, and I
promise you they will fail.
Are any great Santa’s existence is as certain as your
treasures things 'Tttf f S' ery l ?i “ p sh t e “ the
~ High School Musical dances. He s as
you can touch? true as your dreams of singing on
American Idol.
He is a reality that TV cannot bring to a show, for he has little time to
waste on those who need his presence proved.
His spirit is reserved for those who see diamonds in the snow. It is
retained for children who may have Webkinz to kiss, but who still leave
carrots for the reindeer before snuggling into bed.
Think on it, bright Virginia: Are any of your greatest treasures things
you can hold or touch?
What is it that shoots your arms into the air after you’ve scored a
soccer goal? That crinkles your nose with laughter when your grandpa
tickles you? That delights your tongue when you lick an ice cream cone?
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
You should not have to see to believe, young girl you must simply
open your soul and feel.
rc«yw
I ’ . ».,j|life.
Yes, Virginia,
. there is a Santa Claus.
| I suppose Googling your question did not yield
a definitive answer, my dear, or you would not
have written. Web searches cannot provide
' Dennis n
McCarthy
Los Angeles
xDaily News/
Yes, Virginia,
I] there is a Santa Claus.
jJ I know because an Army sergeant in Iraq told
‘me that she yes, she, Virginia delivered a
special gift from the North Pole to Baghdad last
Christmas Eve. It was the gift of life, Virginia, one that
saved a soldier. I’ll let this sergeant tell you the story, Virginia, because she
wants you and every child in the world to know that the spirit of Santa is alive
and well.
“Some soldiers don’t like to talk about family, and this was the case with
this young soldier,” the sergeant wrote to me from Iraq. “His performance
was going down, and his attitude became more and more withdrawn. I began
going over the mail list and noticed that in two months he got only one letter.”
This sergeant learned that the soldier had joined the Army hoping to find a
new- family in the service, because the one he had at home w-asn’t working.
They were not close, and he felt like an outcast, Virginia.
Unfortunately, some families are like that
“Seeing everybody in his unit get mail from loved ones while he got
nothing day after day only made things worse,” the sergeant wrote to me. “I
passed along a few- of the ‘any service member’ letters that people back home
randomly send, but it didn’t help. He said it
w-as like getting ‘occupant’ mail.”
That’s when this sergeant wrote to
Carolyn Blashek in Encino. Calif., for help.
Blashek started a non-profit organization
called Operation Gratitude. In the last four
years, she and her volunteer elves have sent
more than 300,000 care packages to troops
who don’t get much mail from home. She
learns their names, Virginia, from company commanders and first sergeants.
Each and every holiday package she and her elves send has the service
member’s name on it, plus a couple of letters inside from kids like you,
Virginia. They tell the troops that they’re thinking about them every day and
that they care about them.
“It was a few days after Christmas when I began to see the change,” the
sergeant wrote to me. “Something had happened. He was eating with the
other men instead of taking his food and eating alone. His whole attitude and
work improved. He finally opened up and told a stress counselor that he had
planned to take his life on Christmas Day so someone would remember him.”
But something wonderful had happened on Christmas Eve, Virginia. When
the sad young soldier went back to his bunk that night, he found a package
that wasn’t addressed to “any service member.” It w-as addressed to him.
He ripped it open and found presents for him inside and three letters written
for him, all of them thanking him personally for his service and wishing him a
safe return home. That wonderful package saved this young man’s life.
No Santa Claus, Virginia? Santa “exists as certainly as love and generosity
and devotion exist” and as long as there are Santas here on Earth in people
like Blashek, who never even meets those whose lives she touches forever.
The young soldier
found a package
addressed to him,
with presents and
letters inside.
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USA WEEKEND- Dec 21-23,2007
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