A kindly old man in old-time Phoenix


Since Christmastime is coming around again, I'm seeing a lot of something that never seemed to exist in my lifetime - a kindly old man. That is, Santa Claus. In my lifetime, which has spanned over half a century, old men weren't the kindly ones, it was the old women who were. That is, men were cranky old guys who shouted "get off my lawn!" and women were happy and smiling, and maybe even offering muffins to the kids. And since the Christmas holidays are a time of tradition, they give a view into history. Let's go back to Phoenix in 1919 and be kids.

As we walk around the neighborhood, most of the really old people that we see are women. Women have always tended to live longer than men, so it's not surprising. And our fear of these old women is based on the stories we always heard, of witches, and evil old women who tempted children into their houses to eat them (with gingerbread houses!). These women tended to be very skinny, and dental technology being not very advanced, having so few teeth that their mouths tended to fall in and make their chins seem to jut out. Are you seeing a witch yet? How about if I have her holding a broom?

Like I say, images of old women had changed by the time I was a kid in the 1960s. The cartoons I watched always included a happy Mrs. Claus. Santa Claus himself, as the character, was always kind and generous, of course, but the image of actual old men had shifted from kindly to cranky.

As a man myself, who plans to live for a long time, I'm saddened by the change in the image of old men. I myself am a kindly and generous man, and children have nothing to fear from me. I doubt whether I will ever achieve the girth of Santa Claus, or grow a white beard like he has, but I would love to have a big booming laugh. And I know a lot of men who are growing into exactly that description, loving and kind, and happy to see children. Maybe Santa has something to teach us grownups.

Ho ho ho!
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