SORRY for the delay
OhMyGosh, we have a serious winner, (the one time he picked without hallucination or drunk)
Congratulations to.........................................................
Fiji Mariner differential 4, who is now officially famous (PM slash or myself address)
Losers because 2nd place is considered last, so 3rd would be less than last
xjx dif 8
Steelersfan84 dif 12
ExUSAF dif 12
Honorable mention because these guys are actual closet American Heros of various nature
TimesAreChanged
Djfan
Ron Burgundy
3rd Tei Breaker As a small kid, did DIC witness Santa Clause leaving his farm house, flying away on Christmas eve ? YES or NO, give reasoning.
The rest of the story: There is no wrong answer as we will look at this through the eyes of a 5yr old & the eye of an adult....
Back story: I grew up poor, really poor and have never been ashamed of how I was raised. Christmas presents were pretty simple, but looking back one kid got one great present (in our eyes) each year. It worked oldest to youngest, and I was the 2nd youngest (as a kid I didn't know this).
The 5yr old eye: It was getting closer to Christmas, us boys walked into the hills and cut our tree. All of us decorated it with home-made decos', including my hand strung popcorn (couldn't use cranberries as those were for eating Christmas day). My country school had its Christmas program (my part was flawless 1-line), the climax at end was Santa coming and giving each kid a small bag hard candy/apple/popcorn ball. I was in heaven as I got goodies and said hi to Santa (a part of the build up).
-------- A few days before Xmas, I heard my mom on the phone and serious angry talking but I didn't know what it was about. The buildup occurring along the way. Finally, Xmas eve was here. We went to neighbor's house about 3 miles away. In the old days the TV weather man always had this Santa tracker on a map (ironically Santa was near our area). It was getting late, and I was sleeping and wondering when we were going home. The phone rang and it was for my Mom and she spoke real low. Suddenly it was time for us to head home.
--------As we loaded up kid on lap on lap till we all fit in. Driving down the hill (it was snowing as well), my Dad suddenly said hey, look and we could see a red flashing light leaving our place (about 1.5 miles away) and flying away. Dad thought it was Santa and I knew it was, what else could it be...........?
-------- We get home and have to go straight upstairs to bed. Early Xmas morning we sneak down the stairs and sure enough Santa had been there. My next older brother and I got some Tonka Trucks (yes the metal type ones). Later that day I went outside with my cousin and searched for sleigh tracks, and we found a set. Deer tracks all over (wild deer all the time at our place, but these were Santa's deer in our eyes).
I remember this memory like it was yesterday and forever will remain the night I saw Santa fly away..................................
The Adult eye: Obviously I still believe it was Santa, but here is my adult reasoning. My Mom ordered things out of Sears and Robuck catalog all the time (cheap price). She was very good at anticipating things that could go wrong so I could see her placing the order, well in advance and demanding prompt guaranteed delivery. Fast forward to the "angrier talking" phone call was an indication things (Tonka Trucks) weren't showing up promptly. I don't know how many phone calls but I can see my Mom, stubborn as hell but fair and reminding them of their gaurantee..... along with guilt tripping and being the squeaky wheel until they said yes....... we will deliver.
----- That delivery came in the form of a helicopter on Christmas eve. Even as an adult, I could never get her to admit or give me detail. I think she felt it was better for me to have the belief of Santa (representing the good in the world). Her plan worked and may she rest in peAce.
Thank you for reading my story and your patience on the delay of getting this out.
PREDICTION Week 18 thread will be out soon, yet this morning OR TODAY.
Thank you to slash for the great prizes and postage along with his time to get the prizes out. (remember to thank him as well)
Salute the nation