https:\/\/holidaycup.org<\/a>.<\/p>\nIf you feel like getting in some running – or walking – action some of the oldest heroes in town meet every Sunday in two rotating locales. The Smokin’ Old Geezers long ago began inviting any age, skill level or gender identified runners to their 7:30 a.m. gatherings. Some folks have even biked along. This Sunday they meet downtown near First National Bank and on Dec. 29th they are back in the valley, meeting in the University of Alaska Southeast parking lot. Lots of them are holiday traveling, though, so if you are into New Year’s resolutions and need an extra kick it is always best to break in on that Sunday, Jan. 5 downtown.<\/p>\n
They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes, that you can be let down. I think heroes give us passion, work ethic and sometimes a good laugh.<\/p>\n
I met my first hero on Christmas, well, a few days before.<\/p>\n
Yes, I was about five and it was Santa.<\/p>\n
I thought it was strange, I mean, with all the deliveries and hectic schedule he had coming up that this legend would be attending our tiny little town’s annual Moose Club holiday dinner.<\/p>\n
But, sure enough, he came.<\/p>\n
I remember the sound of sleigh bells echoing through the Moose Club walls and heavy footsteps on the roof — the Loyal Order of the Moose went to no expense to make this whole thing feel authentic and I, and many of my peers, were eating it up big time.<\/p>\n
And in he strode.<\/p>\n
All full of himself for sure. Who wouldn’t be? A big bag of treats for young and old, a hearty disposition and, apparently, well-fed.<\/p>\n
I kept my distance.<\/p>\n
I was a bit wary as names were called and brightly wrapped bribes were handed out.<\/p>\n
I thought it was a bit chaotic. My classmates and peers losing their minds when hearing their name mispronounced, pushing past their parents and guests, and leaping into Santa’s lap.<\/p>\n
I kept my cool. My shiny, black fake patent leather shoes biting into my toes. My hand-me-down-sweater scratching through undergarments. My pulse still not up to the level of the sugar I had ingested. My gaze nonchalantly admiring the new flooring.<\/p>\n
Then my name was called.<\/p>\n
I bolted forward one slippery shoe step, stopped and began crying in fright as all attention had been directed at me, me, me and I was too sensitive to handle being brought before my idol.<\/p>\n
It took five strong Scandinavian men, ultimately who were tossed aside by one strong Scandinavian woman, to capture me and place me near the gentle giant’s grasp.<\/p>\n
He lifted me up and set me down.<\/p>\n
There was something familiar in those blue eyes of Santa. The twinkle that is praised in holiday songs worldwide reminded me of someone.<\/p>\n
There was an aroma, too. A scent of deep in the woods. An outdoorsy sent of a rugged man. That was on many of my father’s shirts. Did Santa bring those gifts to my pa?<\/p>\n
And his hands… I only have seen hands that size when I was lifted up from a tumble or placed in the top bunk for bedtime or guided along some forested path.<\/p>\n
The beard threw me.<\/p>\n
So I gave it a tug.<\/p>\n
There was my father’s face!<\/p>\n
I, and many of my cohorts, lost a hero that night, but I gained a new one.<\/p>\n
Everyone gathered around my father that evening. The town shook his hand and laughed along with him and wished each other a “Merry Christmas” and shared good tidings of joy.<\/p>\n
And he was mine.<\/p>\n
Happy Holidays!<\/p>\n
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Forget the mistletoe. I fear it may be turf toe that tickles my fancy this holiday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":957,"featured_media":114374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":11,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,6],"tags":[568,856,529],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-114373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home2","category-sports","tag-column","tag-holidays-and-seasonal-events","tag-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/957"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114373"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=114373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}