To the editor:
If someone says there is no Santa give them a real glare and the word Humbug.
This letter is to express my sincere thanks to a gentleman who I hardly even saw. He is truly an angel.
Earlier this month, a friend drove me to the hospital for my very last treatment for cancer.
It has been a very long 10 months but I am finally cancer free. Although that in itself is a tremendous gift, it gets even better.
From the hospital we went down to the Kelowna food bank to get my Christmas hamper.
The food bank is really an amazing place. It took about an hour and a half to get through the lineup.
It went across the front of the building and then down the side street. There were a great many volunteers going back and forth keeping everyone supplied with hot chocolate.
Someone even brought me a chair as standing was almost impossible after my treatment.
Inside they have a wonderful system. Volunteers kept coming out a door each with a cart and some items in it. When it came their turn each client would step in front of the next cart as a volunteer pushed the cart down a long table where more volunteers were putting more goodies in the basket including a very large turkey.
I couldn’t believe how much was in the two boxes that were in my grocery cart. Then each volunteer would push the cart out to the waiting transportation that the person had come in. A huge thank you and Merry Christmas to all the volunteers at the food bank.
But it gets even better.
The volunteer who was pushing my cart suggested we wait around the corner of the building while my friend went to get his truck.
My friend had left his truck about a block away as the traffic was awful. While we were standing there, a man walked past and put an envelope in my hand, said Merry Christmas, and was gone. I didn’t really get a chance to see his face.
‘He sort of came out of nowhere and someone else said he disappeared east on the small side street. We were going to try and find him then decided maybe it would be nicer if we didn’t know who he is.
When my friend came with the truck a minute or two later, I was still standing there in kind of shock with my volunteer. My friend looked inside the envelope and said, “There is a Christmas card and a $50 bill in here.”
Then he said that maybe I might want to actually count it. I felt a little week in the knees as I started to count. I finally stopped at 10. Ten brand new $50 bills. $500!
After being off work for a year, my bank account didn’t have enough to even pay next month’s rent let alone buy any food. My friend said we better put the money in the bank and while doing so he ask the teller to make sure they were real bills. They were.
So I decided to take my friend for lunch. It felt so good to be able to treat somebody else for a change. And someone said there is no Santa? Really? Well humbug on him.
And to the gentleman who decided to be an angel (he rather came and went like an angel) you have no idea how much what you did for a stranger has meant to me.
It has been hard to keep laughing and smiling these last many months, although I kept laughing and smiling anyway. Now I have a reason to be really happy and very grateful for all that I do have. Thank you so much Santa. And a very Merry Christmas to all.
Name witheld
