Christmas

Sometimes I dress up like Santa Claus

I tried like hell to hold back tears the first time I dressed up as Santa Claus to entertain kids at an income-restricted apartment community in Orlando.

A little girl told me, while sitting on my lap as I was dressed for the part, that all she wanted for Christmas were shoes for her little brother. A young boy said he just wanted for his mom to be happy while another boy asked to receive nothing at all.

Similar requests were made in between the typical interactions of kids asking Santa for toys and gadgets they’ll lose interest in by February.

It was the looks in the eyes of parents and grandparents that made my heart ache most as they soaked up whatever joy these kids were experiencing.

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From the Collection: Atmosphere – “Don’t Forget”

Memories, they get me every single time.

To me, this is the one track I identify most with from Atmosphere’s Slug and Ant. The lyrics and keys that carry this beat hit a spot that can’t easily be described. That’s how genuine this track is, at least to me.

But I’m a bit biased, of course, based on this particular moment alone: “I was addicted to the radio. Make my request, and wait for it, holding my finger on the pause button, like, “now, go” – I guess that was the original down-load. Rap videos, and girl’s digits. A 15-pack of blank cassettes for Christmas…”

The day my dad handed me a box of old blank cassette tapes of meetings or seminars he was done listening to still runs through my mind as clear as the day.

I was that kid in the late 1980s and early 1990s recording music off the radio and dubbing copies of the new tape you just bought. But, in order to do so, I had to face my boom box to my brother’s and be sure everyone left the room before hitting record. Ah, the good ol’ days.

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