Page 10 December 23, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Santa Claus from front page
family members.
“When I retire, I’d love to get a home
in El Segundo,” he says, adding that if he
did, he would keep it anonymous to keep
the attention away from him. “To live in El
Santa Claus explains that he likes all kinds of cookies, sweets, and snacks.
Segundo is a very lucky thing, and I think
the citizens know that, too.”
When asked if he had any parting words,
Claus gave the Herald this iconic phrase:
“Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas to all, and
to all a good night!” •
Claus tries his best to answer everyone.
Claus stresses that each place is completely
different and that what he gifts one house has
nothing to do with the next. He is proud of
every child in El Segundo, and whether the
Leaving presents underneath the Christmas tree is just one of
the many jobs Santa completes in El Segundo on Christmas Eve.
wrappings under the tree are many or few,
he wants to ensure that no one feels left out.
“The real magic of Christmas,” he says, “is
the love of those closest to you. No magic
I can bring could come close.” Outside the
window, one of his reindeer nods its head.
That’s one reason he loves El Segundo: the
people here love each other, and it makes
his sleigh fly faster and higher.
Claus mentions that some of his favorite
milk and cookie combos can be found here in
El Segundo. “I love Smallcakes, and the Gelato
shop,” he says. But more than anything, he
loves the treats that El Segundo families make
at home for him. “If you love it, I will love it.
My taste in snacks is very wide-ranging,”
he explains. Claus likes to eat what kids eat
in their homes. Gluten-free, nut-free, vegan,
extra chocolate, no chocolate… if it’s a snack
in an El Segundo home, then it’s a snack
for Santa, too.
Some children expressed concern about
not having a chimney for Santa to visit, like
those living in apartments and alternative
housing options. Have no fear, says Claus,
because he is here to bring joy to every
child on this special holiday, from the houses
on Candy Cane Lane to the apartments
by Chevron.
To the parents of El Segundo, Claus sends
a special message. “You are doing such a
good job,” he says. Though his job largely
revolves around children, he wants parents
to know that since they were kids, he keeps
up with them too, hoping for the best and
sending well wishes. He hopes that kids from
every faith and belief enjoy this season with
love and comfort. He encourages wishes
of happy holidays and acceptance of every
winter celebration as an expression of joy.
What can the kids of El Segundo expect
from Santa Claus this year? Along with the
usual wrapped gift and Christmas morning
excitement, Claus says he will be bringing
peace, healing, and calmness wherever he can,
but he needs your help. This Christmas, he
asks that you take a deep breath, wish with
all your heart for good things, and hug your
Travel from page 2
“les Immortels” (and yes, that’s the official
designation) approves it for inclusion in la
Dictionnaire de l’Académie française. And not
only are those words—that language—enshrined
in the French Constitution, but every citizen is
given not the duty, but the right (!), to speak
and use them in their everyday affairs.
Why does this matter? Because it matters
to the French you are visiting. In spite of a
flood of complaints about the Académie and
its snail’s pace in taking up new usages, no
one in the mainstream is suggesting that it
be abandoned. And yes, there are a gazillion
revolts and regional variations, but the language
of the Académie, the government, and the
mass media—what you might call Parisian
French—still reigns supreme.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in café
society. People who care about their words
tend to care about their looks, their habits,
and their conversation. So in a Parisian café,
you might overhear elegant bickering over
the latest Paris Saint-Germain soccer match
or well-mannered critiques of the latest St.
Honoré fashions—but you might also hear a
heated debate on the human condition or the
origin of the universe. To outsiders, in particular
Americans, this all reeks (as maybe it should)
of elitism and snobbery, but it also represents
people taking their lives seriously. And the
French, and in particular the Parisians, take
everything about life very seriously.
Which makes it odd that, for most travelers,
languages rarely make the pre-travel prep list.
After decades of wandering around countries
like Hungary, Turkey, Morocco, and India, we
maintain a subscription at Rosetta Stone, but
we’re just as likely to open it to brush up on
our French. There are several similar online
apps—Duolingo comes to mind—that can at
least get the traveler oriented. Will anyone have
a clue what you’re trying to say? Probably not,
but they’ll still respect you for trying. And in
any culture, there’s nothing like provoking a
little gentle humor at your own expense to
break the ice.
Several years ago, I was waiting outside a
chocolate shop in downtown Paris, when a
normally polite and elegant candy-buying Asian
friend stormed out, empty-handed and furious.
“She refused to serve me!’
“She refused?”
“She didn’t exactly refuse. But I was the
only one in there, and she ignored me!”
“Did you ask her first if she spoke English?
As in ‘Bonjour. Parlez-vous Anglais?’”
“Why would I do that? Everybody speaks
English here!”
And therein lay the issue. I took my friend’s
euros and walked inside to a perfectly lovely
reception from a perfectly lovely woman who
spoke much better English than my French.
And probably fluent German and Italian, and
maybe even a little Russian too. But I didn’t
make the mistake of insulting her language.
And what a language French is—musical
in its rhythms, soft in its intimacy, subtle in
its worship of beauty, clever in its delight in
the absurd, profound in its search for eternal
truths. “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.” Or to quote
Isadora Duncan’s very last words, “Adieu, mes
amis. Je vais à la gloire!”
No wonder the French love it so much.
Next up: 23 Travel Movies, One Series,
and Counting.
Ben & Glinda Shipley, published writers
and photographers, share their expertise and
experience of their many world travels. If you
have any questions or interest in a particular
subject, please email them at web@heraldpublications.
com. •
Where better to prepare for class? That way? No! Both ways!
Impromptu concert on Place des Vosges. Café society in winter.