This Santa Claus could convert Scrooge himself By LORETTA SWORD THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
He's the real deal.
And it's more than the long white beard, the round and rosy cheeks or the twinkling blue eyes that crinkle into wrinkles when he smiles.
It's in his easy laughter and the dramatic sweep of his arm. It's in the way his smile fades a bit, and he holds a reporter's gaze as he explains why he is drawn to donning red velvet and fur for kids of all ages this time of year.
Santa Bob is a living example of all the best that Santa Claus - Christmas itself, really - represent: The basic goodness of the human spirit, the joy of generous and anonymous giving, and the faith that miracles and magic are possible for anyone who dares to believe. His philosophy has served him well during a 30-year career in law enforcement that started on the streets of Denver and led to private investigator businesses there, and now in Pueblo. He also owns a home-detention monitoring business.
Although he has spent a good deal of his life working with people many see as the lumps of coal at the bottom of the human-potential strata, Santa Bob said he always has believed that no one really is a bad person. Some just have made bad decisions (or a lot of them), and they stopped believing - first in magic and miracles and finally, in themselves.
Santa Bob said he loves Christmas because it is a time when most people tend to share their best sides with the world, and open their hearts to giving and receiving without expectation or demand.
After he grew his white whiskers into a goatee a few years ago, he said, friends started remarking about his resemblance to Santa Claus and suggested that he should play the jolly elf at Christmas.
They might have been kidding, he said during an interview this week, but the idea took root and he started researching Santa Claus on the Internet.
He ran across several sites dedicated to "real bearded Santas" and decided to become one himself.
He and his wife, a 30-year-employee of the Pueblo Police Department, attended "Santa academies", in Denver, where they received crash courses in child psychology, the history of Santa Claus, how to handle overly exuberant kids (and terrified ones) and their parents, and, in short, how to do more than pose for photos.
I'm expected to be a performer - to be in full character and to bring some magic to the experience."
The goatee is now a 6-inch beard, topped with a frosty, handlebar moustache that floats atop the beard and frames a smile that knows no imitation.
Santa Bob and Mrs. Claus have invested in quality, professional costumes, he said, and it takes him about 90 minutes to get into one of them "and get into character and the spirit of it all."
Mrs. Claus usually goes with me, and she's definitely there helping me behind the scenes. If there was no Mrs. Claus, there'd be no Santa, believe me," he said, absentmindedly rubbing his ample waist.
The couple entertains children of all ages at company Christmas gatherings, private parties, parades and festivals. Most of the time they get paid, but he volunteers his time, too.
They just returned from a three-day event in Thornton, where he entertained 3,500 kids, he said.
Although he has four grown children from a previous marriage, he has no grandchildren yet, so his Christmas avocation helps fulfill that urge for now.
More important, though, is the opportunity to bask in the innocence of children for a while, and to provide a spark that he hopes will reawaken the belief in dreams, possibilities and goodness that he's convinced too many children lack today.
"I don't promise them anything that they're asking for, but I tell them I'll bring them something special, because they are special," he said.
He tells them what he's told plenty of criminal suspects and convicted felons over the years: Take responsibility for your actions and your life. Be kind to people. Believe in yourself.
"I see the joy on their faces when I know they believe. And then I pray that they're not jaded by life as they get older. I pray they can hold on to that belief, that magic, in their hearts."
More than anything, though, Santa Bob wishes that everyone could live their lives year-round with the joy and generosity that fills hearts this time of year.
"Can you imagine, if we all treated each other, 24/7, the way we treat each other at Christmas? What a world it would be."
It's possible, you know. But first, you must believe.
