The Mystery Santa

Many years ago a cousin had a writing assignment in class. I'm not sure exactly what the assignment was, but he wrote a story about a Christmas he experienced. I wish I could scan this so you could read it as it is in my cousin Lyndon's handwriting. I have not changed anything and have typed it exactly as written.

Reading this brought back memories of turkey cooking in the oven, the antique oak dining table we all sat around, the countless hours playing games with my cousins and sister, and of course, my father.

As this is Christmas Eve, I thought I'd share this story with the readers of my blog. Receiving this story was a wonderful surprise. The memories I have about Christmas weren't about the gifts or how much they cost. Instead, they are of the times spent with my family and all the fun we had. Over time we have unfortunately drifted apart. As I share this with you, I feel somehow that are again together once again, even if through a story.

Written by Lyndon Ray
Dated December 8, 1978
Title: The Mystery Santa


It seemed like an endless drive but we finally arrived at Guthrie Center. We walked through our aunt's kitchen door without knocking.

My aunt was in the kitchen and shouted, "They're here!" She threw her arms around me, my brother Bryan, Mom, and Dad, and wished us a Merry Christmas.

Uncle Marlowe came to greet us and our cousins Jewel and Marlys were excited, and everyone was talking at once.

We smelled turkey and dressing cooking and Mom had brought a pecan pie, cookies, and other of our favorite foods.

"Mom," I said, "I can hardly wait until dinner time."

My brother and I went into the living room with our cousins. We looked at some presents and played a few games.

Dad and Uncle Marlowe talked about the weather, about business, and things like that.

Marlowe is a game warden and always has interesteing stories to tell us.

Aunt Joyce and Mom were in the kitchen, getting the meal ready . They laughed and visited. Every now and then they would ask one of us to help set the table or run an errand.

Sometimes we would snitch an (illegible) or a piece of celery off the relish try on the dining room table.

Aunt Joyce called, "Marlowe, come out to the kitchen and carve the turkey."

He gave each of us a piece of turkey. Aunt Joyce ran and got her camera and made us pose for pictures.

We sat down for a big meal, but not before we posed for more pictures. Aunt Joyce got out her tape recorder to record our conversation.

After we had finished eating we went into the living room to open our presents.

Their Christmas tree was lopsided. It was decorated with icicles, ornaments, and small white envelopes which were gifts for baby Jesus.

Cousin Jewel handed out the gifts and we opened them.

There was a loud knock on the front door. A man came in wearing a Santa Claus suit.

"Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!" he said. He knew each of us by name and gave each of us a candy cane. He wished us a Merry Christmas again and left.

I was 7 years old and the youngest. We all knew there wasn't a Santa Claus. Everyone tried to guess who he was, but no one was sure.

Aunt Joyce and Mom and the four cousins went to the lake. We skated for a while and our mothers stayed in the car.

After a while we went into the country to look for deer as they came out of the timber in the evening.

We went back to their house, played some games and before we knew it, it was time to go home.

Since then we have asked many people if they were the mysterious Santa, but have never found out who he is.

My relatives did find out that he visited many homes in their neighborhood that day but no one knew who he was.