sinterklaas

“This reminds me of that song,” I chuckled to Nicole: “He sees you when you’re sleeping/ He knows when you’re awake/ He knows if you’ve been bad or good/ So be good for goodness sake!”

Several times the guards at Pendleton have made notes that Paul Henry has cried out in his sleep, and I was asking Nicole if Paul Henry had any prior history of such nighttime disturbances. No, she said.

It was the first time I’d ever compared myself to Santa. Though I’ve lost the stomach for the part since moving to Estrella Vista, I’ve grown a long enough beard for it. I told Nicole my haircutter moved to Maui nine months ago and I haven’t trimmed my hair or beard since.

One of my all-time favorite movie scenes is from The Miracle on 34^th Street (1947) when Kris Kringle, as a Macy’s Santa, receives a visit from a little Dutch girl who cannot speak English. He immediately begins a conversation in Dutch. I’ve often thought the Kris Kringle character played by Edmund Gwenn would be a desirable model for older men to emulate.

Here’s a recording of the scene to reference if you’re unfamiliar with it. The second little girl is Natalie Wood, who plays a Santa skeptic whose disbelief is undermined as she watches. You may think it silly, but this scene always chokes me up.

 

Sinterklaas is the patron saint of children and a latter day derivation of Odin, the all-seeing father in the Northern Tradition, who gave mankind the runes which have been so helpful to me in making sense of everything there is.

So maybe Santa is my guy.

۞

Groove of the Day

Listen to Louis Armstrong performing “Zat You Santa Claus?”

blessing

It is only just now beginning to dawn on me what an extraordinary privilege it is—a blessing, really—that this child is in my life.

Last night I was bundled up in a sleeping bag and napping by the space heater in one of the wingback chairs when Nicole Gingerich called while returning home from a visit with Paul Henry. She had quite a few pieces of news to relay to me, but there was one thing in particular that she knew I would want to know.

It had to do with the dining hall incident I told you about two days ago, in which Paul Henry received a write-up for sharing food with another boy and incurred the wrath of that out-of-control prison guard. Nicole knew that I had been worried that maybe Paul Henry had been bullied or pressured into sharing. As it turns out, it was a voluntary act of compassion.

It seems that one of the boys was telling the others that it was his birthday, and Paul Henry was bothered that none of the other boys were paying attention or seemed to care. Paul felt sorry for this and gave the boy one of his cookies. It was a spontaneous act of heart. “Happy Birthday,” he said.

This was when the guard exploded and made a great scene and Paul Henry manned-up and immediately apologized. Afterwards there was an administrative hearing where another guard, an African-American lady, asked Paul Henry to explain. He told his mother there were tears in her eyes when this lady said she said she wished she didn’t have to sign his write-up. But rules are rules after all, and this is prison where, it seems, even acts of kindness are forbidden.

Yet I cannot resist the thought that as wrong as it is that Paul Henry has been placed in such a violent and hate-filled place as Pendleton, perhaps there is a higher purpose for it. He seems to be having an impact on the place. Nicole told me that the superintendent of the facility has paired Paul Henry with another boy who is vulnerable and needs a friend to protect him. The superintendent seems to have recognized Paul Henry’s impulse to reach out and help others, and has put him in a situation where he can be of service to this other boy. Is it possible that he is being seen as a blessing to the institution while he is there?

Nevertheless, his every act of kindness is raising the fears of the Guardians who know the ways of Pendleton better than we do. Every culture has an autoimmune reaction to those people and influences it recognizes as alien and it is just a matter of time before it will destroy this compassionate and loving child.

A couple days ago Nicole sent me a sheaf of letters Paul Henry’s family and friends had sent to Judge Rex Reed urging him to consider the boy’s character before handing down a sentence (which he ignored). Included among them was a poem Paul Henry had written to describe himself, and I reproduce it for you here so you can see for yourself who this boy is. (Click on the image to see it full-size.)

Paul Henry’s behavior while in captivity is already proving that Judge Reed is a latter day incarnation of Pontius Pilate. Let us hope that IDOC heeds the warnings of the Guardians and transfers Paul Henry to South Bend before this son of God becomes a human sacrifice at the hands of the callous state.

۞

Groove of the Day

Listen to Gang of Four performing “I Will Be A Good Boy”