It became clear on Sunday, November 28th that Santa was missing. Clarence…his valet and special assistant had gone to wake him at the customary time…and he was not in his massive mahogany bed. He and Mrs. Claus slept in separate bedrooms due to Santa’s habit of loud snoring. Mrs. Claus was not herself without her usual 10 hours of sack time. However, since it was less than a month to Christmas…both of the Claus has been working 18 hour days…and Santa…at times slept on a hideaway bed in his office that is adjacent to the Toy Factory. He had recently hired his first two children as his Special Assistants in Charge of Toy Satisfaction…

Billy B. and Chet had applied for the jobs last Christmas but due to the Pandemic, they were not able to join the Toy Production Team at the North Pole. But this morning…they were the first two people that Clarence reported to…that Santa was neither in his Big Bed…nor sleeping in his office and that the last time he was seen was at noon yesterday. Yesterday around 9:00 A:M: Santa had told Jane, his factory floor manager, that he was not feeling well and thought that he might go and get a Covid test to ensure that he did not have the virus. Humphrey, the elf in charge of packaging and shipping, said that Santa had told him that he was so cold that he felt, ‘Chilled to the bone.’ Humphrey went on to speculate that Santa might have gone to Florida to warm up…

Suddenly, Daryl walked into Santa’s Office with his dad, The Wiz, and he suggested that they take a couple of reindeer to Destin, Florida to determine if Santa was at his condo on Miramar Beach. It was an established fact that Santa loved Miramar Beach and his condo. He spent at least 3 months per year enjoying the ocean and the wonderful warm sunshine…which eased the arthritic pain that he suffered…especially as he had gotten older. It was out of character for Santa to leave the North Pole prior to his work on Christmas Day…but then again…everything had been different during the Pandemic.

Toy Satisfaction came with a Toy Bag Full of Responsibility… Chet and Billy B. quickly agreed that The Wiz had a good idea and they subsequently all climbed into Santas personal sleigh that he used for quick trips to individual children…usually those who were ill…or very sad…and they flew to Destin. Jane joined them…and in the blink of an eye…they were there. You see the Santa Sleighs all ran on Santa Magic and Yuletide Good Cheer…which was very fast…indeed! They knocked on the door to Santa’s condo…and out came Mrs. Claus. She said that they were just getting ready to return to the North Pole and had flown to Destin…for an overnighter to visit Santa’s Doctor to take the Covid Test…and then take a dip in the Ocean and sometime in the Hot Tub…

Chet was awakened by his pastor closing the Sunday Church Service with a Blessing for the Congregation. There was his mom, Thelma, and Billy B. and Jane and Daryl and The Wiz…and Santa…sitting on the corner pew…winking at him…and disappearing…