A Different Christmas Story

A Kind of Christmas Story

My friend Billy did not graduate with our class that sunny day at the Greek Theater in Pomona California. He was however on the hill overlooking the graduation with the other "criminals" in our class. They were arrested, put in jail, and stayed there until the Kiwanis bailed them out because the were football players. Their crime... breaking into some councilman's house in Ontario. I never knew what they had actually stolen, but what I do know is that it wasn't the first time they had stolen stuff. They actually had quite a little business going, selling stolen goods. Everyone knew where to go to get a car radio. He also dealt in porn. He had films which he charged the guys to view on certain night. He also thought it would be a swell idea to have a " Girls Night" and wanted me to organize it. He said the money was good. I declined.

Billy was actually a sweetheart. Everyone liked him, completely disregarding his criminal activities. He was the guy you called when you needed a ride. He was the guy who would loan you money. He was the guy who you could actually have an intelligent conversation with. I liked him a lot.

Not surprisingly he continued his questionable activities into adulthood, and actually spent some time in prison...not jail... prison. I think it was for stealing tractors and taking them to Mexico. When he was just out of prison, he came to our high school reunion sporting a cowboy hat, boots, a really good looking blue blazer, and light gray pants. He walked in late and got a standing ovation. It said a lot of confusing things about our class.

But before all this, he had other jobs and one of them was being Santa at Nash's Department store.where I was working during Christmas. He was great at the job...very jolly ...and kids liked him., but what happened one day probably scarred a lot of children for life. Billy was doing his job and some random guy walked up, and it's unclear what he said to Billy, but it clearly upset Billy who jumped up, put the child in his lap down and cold cocked the guy. It was a mess. Children were crying. Parents were shocked into silence. The guy was on the floor probably bleeding. Billy was fired that day.

I am not sure if he ever reflected on that day, but I know he reflected a lot about some of the things he had done when he became the most incredible "born again"" Christian kind of late in life. He took care of one of our friends until she died of ALS, he brought God knows how many people to his church. He brought food to people. He became such a good person that you felt unworthy even being around him and he was always praying for you. A couple of years ago, before he died, he became friends with a guy who he had bullied unmercifully in high school. In retrospect he was probably "on the spectrum" which Billy and frankly the rest of us, didn't understand. Anyway at one of reunion meetings he was talking abut this guy and what he had done to him in high school and he broke down and cried.

So, that was Billy and although the Santa "take down" started out to be the point of this story; it is now a story of repentance, regret and redemption. And isn't that what Christmas is all about? I wish he would walk in right now....I would be standing clapping.

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