Happy Holidays!

I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and Happy New Year!


YES, VIRGINIA

Francis Pharcellus Church, Editor of the New York Sun, responds to a letter by Virginia O’Hanlan in the editorial section of the Sun, September 21, 1897—

"We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor,
I am eight years old. Some of my little friends say
there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in
the Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a
Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

THE END

Over The Edge

My murder mystery novel "OVER THE EDGE" will be available in print in 2010. The ebook version is available at http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/eBook45649.htm

Maggie Allen's world of corporate money and power comes crashing down after she is taken by a man who is only out to use her for his own gain. When she is released from a short stint in prison, she refuses to give up, even though no one will give her a second chance. She loses everything and is forced to move to the other side of town, where she is determined to make a new life for herself. Her life would be perfect if it weren't for Brant Evans, a corrupt police officer who constantly reminding her about her past and everything she has lost. She can't understand his vendetta against her, but she refuses to be intimidated.

Free Short Story

Whiskey Creek Press is offering my erotica romance short story "CHRISTMAS DREAMS" for free for the month of December. Morgan and Davis have been best friends since they were children and even Davis' move to Maine didn't affect their deep friendship. When Morgan's relationship with her fiancée falls apart, at Davis' urging, she moves to Maine to make a fresh start. She soon realizes that her feelings for Davis run much deeper than friendship.

Enjoy!