1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,380 Hello everyone and welcome to the Within Range Coaching podcast. I'm Ranger, certified holistic 2 00:00:10,380 --> 00:00:15,520 success coach, and in this podcast, I'm breaking down the journey that entrepreneurs face as 3 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:19,980 they start their organization, find solutions to the roadblocks in their way, and create 4 00:00:19,980 --> 00:00:26,020 an impact that lasts. So if you're an entrepreneur, nonprofit leader, or purpose driven community 5 00:00:26,020 --> 00:00:30,360 member that wants to learn how to grow your impact and develop yourself as the person 6 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:35,600 behind the mission, then this podcast is for you. I know you're just as eager to get started 7 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:44,520 as I am, so let's jump right in. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, everybody. 8 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:49,360 And welcome to today's episode of the Within Range Coaching podcast. Continuing on with 9 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:54,640 my series of the folks that I meet on my walk across America, the entrepreneurs, nonprofit 10 00:00:54,640 --> 00:01:00,760 leaders, community members that are helping make it possible. And today I'm joined by 11 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:08,920 a married couple duo business, I don't know, super cool community members that actually 12 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:14,480 helped me out in the Oxford, Mississippi area. And I don't know, I feel like at this point, 13 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:19,760 my podcast is just me talking about how cool Facebook and social media is. But what was 14 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:26,040 I made a post on the like, what's happening in Oxford page that I was coming through. 15 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:30,520 And it just kind of blew up. There was a bunch of people offering help and assistance and 16 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:36,440 giving advice and letting me know that there was a big concert happening that weekend. 17 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:42,480 And suddenly made sense. Yeah, why there was no more hotels available for the day that 18 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:48,600 I was getting in. And I noticed that this woman commented on there and said, you're 19 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:54,040 more than welcome to stay with us. And it kind of got lost in the sea of other people 20 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:59,640 that were offering places to stay. And then somebody replied to that and said, Oh, they're 21 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:04,480 the best Mr. And Mrs. Claus in the country, blah, blah, blah, you'd be so lucky to stay 22 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:11,140 with them. And that caught my attention. And I said, there's a chance I'm going to stay 23 00:02:11,140 --> 00:02:17,520 with Santa Claus. So I reached out to her, reach out to Camille, and I don't know, got 24 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,160 in contact with them. They let me stay in their airstream for a night, took me out to 25 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:27,880 dinner. I had my first crawfish boil. Yeah. So I got to do that and ended up meeting Mr. 26 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:32,560 Kent Breckenridge, but I'll let them kind of introduce themselves. But today we're joined 27 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:38,600 by Camille and Kent Breckenridge, Santa Breckenridge and Mrs. Claus. How's it going you guys? 28 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:45,280 Good. Good. We're glad to see your face again. We've been following you, of course, on your 29 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,740 socials and everything since we met you and you stayed with us. So we've just been keeping 30 00:02:49,740 --> 00:02:56,720 up with you. Yeah, we're we're very proud of what you're doing. Yeah. Just yeah, it's 31 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:01,920 great to kind of be able to kind of follow somebody doing something good out there. And 32 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,360 we certainly appreciate everything that you're doing for folks. For sure. So that means a 33 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,800 lot. Well, I appreciate that you guys. And I mean, I can definitely say the same thing 34 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,400 for you guys. And I don't know, it's always funny whenever I tell people about the different 35 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:18,280 folks that I've stayed with, like, oh, I stayed at a bird sanctuary. I stayed at a and some 36 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:23,640 Army veteran shed for a few nights. Oh, I stayed with Santa, you know. So I show them 37 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:27,980 your pictures. I tell them a few of your guys' stories. And I'm excited that I can finally 38 00:03:27,980 --> 00:03:34,040 direct people to our episode because I feel like I'm butchering some of the stories. They're 39 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,120 so they're so I don't know, I feel like a couple of the ones that you guys have told 40 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:42,800 me were impactful. And yeah, it's just nice finding other folks that are doing good in 41 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:49,000 the world. So, you know, the funny thing about stories, and also the great thing about stories 42 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:55,200 is that every time someone tells it, you know, something else is is emphasized because you 43 00:03:55,200 --> 00:04:01,600 heard or something stuck you that was special to you. And in a story, and it might be something 44 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:09,760 else next time you hear it. So the fact of you telling a story from your particular viewpoint, 45 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,960 you know, is going to resonate with somebody else. So it's not that you butchered it. It's 46 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:24,160 just your take on what we do. Yeah, for sure. So you're the best Santa. I don't know about 47 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:32,800 that man. But we love everybody. Yes, we love being Santa and Mrs. Klaus. We really got 48 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:39,680 started because we can't started really before I did, I was still working a in my career 49 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:48,920 full time, and had not retired yet. And so he was working a corporate job. And at the 50 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:57,320 corporate level, they decided to do the no shave November. For their across company, 51 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:03,160 you know, everybody could sign up and then get people to, you know, help donate and do 52 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:07,120 that nationwide or whatever in their note, I was clean shaving, she had always told me 53 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:11,360 she wanted me clean shaving. And that's true. And matter of fact, I had some hair at first 54 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:15,400 when we when we reconnected. Yeah. And she says, I really don't like that. Would you 55 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:21,800 say I don't like my clean shaving for quite a few years when this came about? That's right. 56 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:26,440 Which is so funny, because right now I'm staring at you and you got the full on beard like 57 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:31,480 down to your chest. Like it's for sure. I wish I did more with the video for the podcast, 58 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:36,000 because I think that's like, yeah, you can be clean shaven. It's just this giant. Well, 59 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,800 sure. Maybe some other time and I can put a picture up there the clean shaven guy. This 60 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:46,240 one. Perfect. Recognize it to carry the clean shaven guy on my driver's license. Oh, my 61 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:51,560 gosh. Just the jack with people. I just renew my license online and keep this old thing. 62 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:56,560 And then they wonder who the heck stole this car. You know, it's it's grandpa took this 63 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:02,840 kid's car. He did look really young. I do have a baby face. Yeah. So he just grew out 64 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:07,440 of beard during that time for a month and he his beard goes fast. And so he grew out 65 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:14,600 of beard and my our daughter and I both said, oh, we like it. You know, yeah, you can keep 66 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:18,840 it for a little bit. Whatever. I mean, didn't look nearly as bad as, you know, I was envisioning 67 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:26,600 or whatever. And I kind of grew to like it. And so he just kind of kept growing it. And 68 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:32,120 a little bit later, she our daughter was like, you need to be Santa. I mean, like, look at 69 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:38,080 this beard. It was great. Our daughter bought it hook line. Oh, yeah. Sure. For sure. Start 70 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:44,600 taking selfies. Yeah. Hashtag guys. Beard goals. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And it kind of 71 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:50,440 just evolved from there, honestly, which is sounds crazy. But on the next year, rolled 72 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,960 around and several other people throughout the year, like just strangers we met people 73 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:59,040 from our town where we were living at the time just said, oh, my gosh, you look like 74 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:04,200 Santa or you should play Santa or, you know, just kind of saying funny things to him. And 75 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:07,960 a couple of people were like, I need to get you to be Santa for my grandchildren this 76 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:11,880 year. They're coming from out of town, you know, for Christmas or whatever. And it just 77 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:17,760 kind of evolved from there. And the first year that he was like, OK, I mean, I'll do 78 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,560 it for these neighbors of ours. They're like, he's like, OK, I'll do it for this neighbor 79 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:27,840 and their grandkids, you know, and he just was hooked. I mean, he loved it. He absolutely 80 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:33,720 loved it. And he was like, oh, I might like this. And so he kind of fell down a rabbit 81 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:41,040 hole of just researching and things to do and how to, you know, do it and what to wear 82 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:47,080 and all this kind of stuff. And he went really traditional with the like Coca-Cola classic 83 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:53,680 suit the first year. And he was like, man, this is a lot of fun. And I did not do anything 84 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:59,820 with it. I was just helping him get dressed before it was time to go. And the next year. 85 00:07:59,820 --> 00:08:04,440 So he only did one or two little things that year, spent the next year really researching 86 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,560 it and then did a couple of things the next year. 87 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:13,040 That was when we also went to. Yes. Went to school. Yes. That's what I was going to say. 88 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:19,120 So while he was doing his research, we went to the Charles W. Howard Santa School in Midland, 89 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:24,360 Michigan. And it is the oldest Santa school in the United States in the world, actually 90 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:31,040 in the world. OK, there you go. And they really spent we spent a week and learned about what 91 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:41,760 they call the heart of Santa. So how to storytell, how to work on your Santa character, meaning 92 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:47,960 if you like, for instance, there were some men there that were like cowboy Santas and 93 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:54,080 there were Santas of different ethnic backgrounds. And so how they did, you know, their Santa 94 00:08:54,080 --> 00:09:00,960 portrayal and there were classes, little sessions for Mrs. Claus. And there was a 95 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:06,720 gentleman that came over from Denmark and he was a Santa over there. And he brought 96 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:12,080 stuff and taught people how to sing some of his stuff. And then there was a guy and I 97 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:18,200 cannot say his name. It starts with an I. And it's about that long. But he was from 98 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:25,620 Israel and he was a Santa over in Israel. And apparently, even though there's a large 99 00:09:25,620 --> 00:09:34,000 Jewish community, there's still quite a few people who would like to kind of join into 100 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:39,720 that celebration during the year. And it's kind of a fun thing for the kids. So, yeah, 101 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:44,680 I mean, you get to see some cross sections. We saw a couple from South America. Those 102 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:49,120 gentlemen came up. So it was really a world. I mean, just people came from all over the 103 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:55,200 world to this school. Yeah. So once we did that, we really were kind 104 00:09:55,200 --> 00:10:01,920 of both all in. He we took off a little bit of time. He had some health issues one year 105 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:05,400 and it took a little time to get those addressed a couple of months. So we didn't really do 106 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:12,640 a lot. And then he kind of dove in. I mean, he was all in and booking different things. 107 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:17,920 I helped a couple of times. And then once I retired in twenty twenty, I went full time 108 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:26,280 as well. And we started booking together. We pretty much and now we only book as a couple. 109 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:32,360 And he can tell you about why that is. So then when the health thing, you know, one 110 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:37,520 of the one of the top guys knew that we were trying to really work and excel and all of 111 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:45,540 this. He's very well known in the community. And he had written a book called Santa ology. 112 00:10:45,540 --> 00:10:52,040 And it's a great big book, but it goes through all kinds of things and stories about how 113 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:56,000 you go around the world in one night. And it's actually not one night. There's several 114 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:59,840 nights and the stuff because not everybody celebrates on the same night throughout the 115 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:04,720 world. So there's all of this stuff that goes on with it. So you can help to build your 116 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:12,040 stories and stuff and build your own North Pole with your characters and everybody else. 117 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:18,940 And it helps because really, when you put that suit on and when she dresses up, everything 118 00:11:18,940 --> 00:11:27,180 we do from that moment on is completely unscripted. It's improv. It is. So we you know, that was 119 00:11:27,180 --> 00:11:33,360 one of the big things we learned was that you have to be very skilled in improv. And 120 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:38,440 we knew nothing about that. So it really equated to the fact of being able to think quickly 121 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:43,800 on your feet, which is improv. We just didn't know what we were doing at that time. And 122 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:47,560 we finally got there's a name for it. Yeah. Yeah. And we finally got because she had to 123 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:51,240 think quick because the kids come up to you. What's my name? What's my name? What's my 124 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:55,700 name? What's my name? You're supposed to know my name. What's my dog's name? What's my else 125 00:11:55,700 --> 00:12:00,240 name at home? And all of this stuff, you know, so you have to think very quickly and you 126 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:06,360 have to be able to counter these things. And at the same time, keep the magic alive. So 127 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:11,880 very much. Very much. Yeah, it's very much a yeah, it's very much a cat and mouse game 128 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:19,240 almost. Yeah. So well, we work well together. And I think my I mean, well, I know for sure 129 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:25,960 my 25 plus years in education working with children of all ages helps us a lot because 130 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:31,640 pick up on a lot of cues maybe that sometimes he misses and he catches things that I miss. 131 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:38,040 And so we do play off each other really well. And we, you know, work together. And so I 132 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:42,320 think that's a lot of it. And his thing is always well, first of all, we just enjoy being 133 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:49,040 together and hanging out all the time. But he likes to tell people that well, he decided 134 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:53,820 that Mrs. Claus was she did not need to hang out at the North Pole all the time that people 135 00:12:53,820 --> 00:12:59,200 needed to see her too, and that she likes to travel. And he asked me about her. So why 136 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:07,840 not? So yeah, and I tell people that I outsourced all the cookie making and to the elves. And 137 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:14,280 so I get to travel to so and see people. So it's a lot of fun. I think we work better 138 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:20,880 together than we do separately because we're able to help each other. I might pick up on 139 00:13:20,880 --> 00:13:26,240 something a child said before they ever came to us. Or he might pick up on something an 140 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:31,440 adult said, and then we can play off of that. And we can feed that information quietly to 141 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:37,080 each other. Yes. So that if I hear the child's name, but she didn't, I can say this is so 142 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:42,600 and so, or the parent says this or something. So when the greeting comes, it's instantly 143 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:46,960 because the parents are back in line, they don't realize that we're all listening. So 144 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:54,920 when we do that, then it's like, Oh, my gosh, right there. And then typically, if we know 145 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:59,600 three or four pieces of information that a that a parent or a friend or family member 146 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:05,240 can share with us before that child gets to us, we can keep we can keep a child that's 147 00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:11,840 maybe kind of on the edge of not believing anymore. To help them keep the spirit of Christmas 148 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:15,640 alive. It's not about Santa and Mrs. Claus. It's about the spirit of Christmas, which 149 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:20,760 is not one day a year. It's all year long. Yeah. And that's what I was gonna ask you 150 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:29,240 guys in our work about is you keeping that spirit alone all year long. Yeah. Yeah. And 151 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:33,480 I mean, but this episode is going to go up in June or July. So I mean, that's the whole 152 00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:37,760 point, right? Is that this this cheer being a good person, like these aren't things that 153 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:47,720 you just do the week leading up to Christmas and the day after it's it's year round. Nothing. 154 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:53,400 To love on somebody to give them a hug, to give them a smile, to say something nice, 155 00:14:53,400 --> 00:15:01,720 to do something nice for somebody. It costs you nothing, except for time and an open heart. 156 00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:07,920 And that's all it cost. And anybody can do that. So that's what you know, we see as an 157 00:15:07,920 --> 00:15:13,880 opportunity like when you when your post went up, you know, Camille felt that it was a strong 158 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:19,600 thing. And she says, Yes, this guy's doing something really cool. Yeah, look at this. 159 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:23,640 Yeah. She says, I think I'm gonna offer a night for him to stay stay with us in the 160 00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:28,800 air stream. I said, Okay, honey, if you're if you're cool with him, I am too. And then 161 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:34,920 we get to meet you. You know, so it was just the fact of us doing something random but 162 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:44,920 was made it Yeah, yeah. And again, I appreciate it. Nicest airstream I've ever stayed in. 163 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,200 Hey, listeners, if you're finding this episode thought provoking, and you're wondering how 164 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:53,160 to take what you've learned and your own experiences to help others, I'd love to chat with you. 165 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,240 Let's dive into a coaching call. And your first one is on me. Just head over to the 166 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,880 link in the show notes labeled coaching call interest form, and we'll set up a time that 167 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:10,540 works for both of us. I can't wait to connect. With that, we've touched on it a little bit, 168 00:16:10,540 --> 00:16:15,360 but just as like a more pointed question, what does it really mean to be Santa and Mrs. 169 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:21,240 Claus? Like at the like you talked earlier about the what like the heart of Santa like 170 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:27,840 for you guys? What does that mean? Well, what I look at is that, you know, people ask me 171 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:32,400 all the time, are you really the real Santa and us and I and I don't say yes, I don't 172 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:39,480 say no. I just say I represent the spirit of Christmas, which is peace, love, joy and 173 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:47,840 happiness. And a glimmer of hope. It might be having a hard time. And so and it might 174 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:53,320 be a bad day, it might be a bad month, they might be having a bad year. But doesn't mean 175 00:16:53,320 --> 00:17:00,560 it's a bad life. So we're there to let people know that there may be strangers out there 176 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:05,940 that care about them more than they care about it, that they matter. You know, and when somebody 177 00:17:05,940 --> 00:17:10,900 thinks that they don't, and we've run into some really difficult people, you know, situations 178 00:17:10,900 --> 00:17:15,600 where people needed. They needed a lot. They needed some love. They needed an arm around 179 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:22,240 them. They needed someone to to sit there and say, you know what, that's tough. You 180 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:28,520 know, and and just just to listen. And that's that's a lot of it, man. Yeah, I mean, it 181 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:29,520 really is. 182 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:35,600 I think that's one reason why we focus more on the the events that we do the gigs that 183 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:42,400 we book, where we are able to spend more time with each child, we can take two or three 184 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:46,280 minutes rather than 30 seconds, you know, there are a lot of places where you can go 185 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,720 and get your picture made with Santa like at big box stores, right? You could they have 186 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:56,560 a display and you can go and get your picture made with Santa. But we want to interact with 187 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:03,000 the children, with the families. So for us, the the events that we choose to be a part 188 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:10,280 of, we are able to spend time to ask questions, have the children talk to us, have the families 189 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:16,000 talk to us. There are many times a parent will let us know, you know, like as they walk 190 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:23,320 up, my child has, you know, special needs. So we really are very conscious of that and 191 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:28,920 very aware of those situations. So we try to do everything we can to make the child 192 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:29,920 feel comfortable. 193 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:35,000 She's much more cognizant of that because of her time in teaching. I knew that there 194 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:39,920 was something of there was there was something I needed to know and I didn't feel equipped. 195 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:45,280 That was one of the main reasons that we went to the Santa school is that I needed to understand 196 00:18:45,280 --> 00:18:51,720 how to be more equipped to work with situations like this, where there was an adult or a child 197 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:56,660 that might have some sort of special needs. We've got a lot of neurodivergent children 198 00:18:56,660 --> 00:19:01,520 and adults that we deal with. And, you know, you have to figure out how to which is one 199 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:07,680 of the reasons that we've transitioned a lot of our our costume or our our wear is because 200 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:14,980 red. And some of those colors are triggers. So you may not see me in quite as much red 201 00:19:14,980 --> 00:19:20,320 as in the beginning. You know, I'm not going to wear that huge red coat and all of that 202 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:25,560 kind of stuff most of the time. It's certainly inside. You know, I'll have my hat off so 203 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:32,220 that somebody can see I got hair and that I'm a real person and I'll wear a really nice 204 00:19:32,220 --> 00:19:37,800 puffy shirt that, you know, Santa would probably wear in the workshop and I'll wear a nice, 205 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,680 you know, super cool vest, you know, so that people see that in my big belt and my buckle 206 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:48,920 and my boots and stuff. So it's really it's it's really pretty obvious who I am. It's 207 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:54,920 just that I'm wearing something slightly different than somebody else. And the children seem 208 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,900 to be a lot more at ease with that. Yeah. And the ones that are really wary, they'll 209 00:19:58,900 --> 00:20:06,600 come to her first and then we'll kind of play off of that. And then we like those gigs where, 210 00:20:06,600 --> 00:20:12,120 yes, we can interact, but we also like them where we're there a good pit of the day and 211 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:16,240 we've interacted with lots of children. And then some of the ones who have just really 212 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:20,760 having a great time can come back and visit with us throughout the day. And hey, let me 213 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:24,800 tell you what I was doing. I was just petting the pet and the reindeer. I was out there 214 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:29,420 in the alpacas. I held the bunnies. You know, there was all of this that goes on. They come 215 00:20:29,420 --> 00:20:34,160 back and give us reports, you know, on all of this kind of stuff. It's fun. It's a lot 216 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:38,600 of fun. It is for sure. I was going to say it's it's funny because it sounds like, you 217 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:43,960 know, Camille and Kent went to Santa school. But the way that you guys dress, it looks 218 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:49,360 like Mr. and Mrs. Claus went to fashion school. You guys like you like you said, you're not 219 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:55,280 just in that traditional red big coat and whatever Mrs. Claus wears traditionally. Like 220 00:20:55,280 --> 00:21:01,680 you guys look like sharp. It looks very much like you said, what you would think that they 221 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:07,440 would wear going out, but very much still, you know who they are. 222 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:12,400 Yeah. Well, and part of that is that, you know, we needed to break that stigma. We felt 223 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:17,880 like we needed to break that stigma so we could appeal to the kids more. And it's like, 224 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,880 where did that? Where did Santa come from? Well, it came. I mean, if you start really 225 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:31,440 going way back, it was like, you know, in Myra, St. Nicholas of Myra, which, you know, 226 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:36,520 he was a real individual, but in Myra and there were some there's some miracles that 227 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:41,160 were attributed to him and things like that. If you start listening, I mean, watching it. 228 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:47,480 But from there, that's where the gift giving, um, right. Quite, you know, private little 229 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:53,080 sneaky little, I'm leaving something for you special at night came from. And it's gone 230 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:58,400 through that. And of course that's what 1500 to 1600 years ago. Yeah. So if that holds 231 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:05,680 true, if Santa is still 1600 years old, roughly give or take, then that means Mrs. Claus is 232 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:10,240 going to be somewhere along that line too. You know, probably a little bit younger than 233 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:15,160 the, than Santa, but so it was staying to reason that we don't wear the same clothes 234 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:21,120 every day for 1500 years. So we probably have a closet full of clothes by now. And that's 235 00:22:21,120 --> 00:22:24,480 what that's one of the things we tell them, said, look, you know, you don't wear the same 236 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:29,840 shirt every day. We don't wear the same clothes every day. Right. You know, but we can change 237 00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:38,440 it that length of time. It's like, yeah. Uh, Blitzen, you know, Blitzen brought the, uh, 238 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:42,920 the, you know, hooked up and brought us down in the airstream. We're parked outside here 239 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,320 and we brought her and we brought her brought a week's worth of clothes with us because 240 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:52,120 we're making the rounds guys. Yeah. What about that? You know, so when we, we really do try 241 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:59,480 to make it fun, but we break it down real too, so that they're like, really? It's not 242 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:04,880 just candy canes and fairy tales. We, we try to make it and people realize that we're a 243 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:11,920 real person. And it's gotten to the point now to where there are children who know us 244 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:19,080 throughout the year and they know us as Santa and Mrs. Claus. Right. That is our true identity 245 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:27,280 to them. Our alter egos, our aliases are Mr. Kent and Ms. Camille. There's, there are some 246 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:32,960 kids in our town that know that we're Santa and Mrs. Claus and their job is to keep our 247 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:40,520 identity secret. Yeah. And they take it as a very, very, very important job. Orders from 248 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:45,160 the highest power that a child can really understand. Their parents bought right into 249 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,640 it and not tell them, tell anybody who they are. You know, you got to keep the secret. 250 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,560 You should help them keep it alive. Keep that magic alive. So when we walk into a place 251 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:58,800 and either one of them are there, Etta or Avery are there, you know, they kind of look 252 00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:03,200 us and wink or something like that. Or they put a thumb up because they know, but they're 253 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:08,760 like, and it's like, we got it. We got it. You know, yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. So we know 254 00:24:08,760 --> 00:24:14,520 the real people and the same thing at the reindeer farm. Those, those children up there, 255 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:23,200 they knew, they know who they believe that we are. And our, our alter ego or aliases, 256 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,760 Mr. Kent and Ms. Camille. And we've gone to water parks with those kids and they like, 257 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:31,240 how cool is it? We get to go to the water park with Santa and Ms. Puff. Oh yeah. But 258 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:38,040 we can't tell anybody. You know? Yeah. Yeah. So that's, that's precious. And there's, 259 00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:44,160 there's also that layer of like that responsibility that you also have to maintain a certain, 260 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:49,880 I guess, perception or appearance and public. How does that, is that, is that a lot of pressure? 261 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,920 Like what, what does that experience like for you guys? Some it's, I don't think it's 262 00:24:53,920 --> 00:25:01,760 a lot of pressure, but it does. We, we do, we do think about before we go places that 263 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:07,920 we might go or what the crowd is going to be like if we were going someplace and there 264 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,320 was going to be a lot of alcohol involved, but there were also children that were going 265 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:16,600 to be present for whatever reason. If the event was set that way, we might not drink 266 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:23,000 anything at all. You like a glass of wine or a mixed drink too. But as Santa and Mrs. 267 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:28,000 Claus, we're not going to, we're not going to do that in front of a child. So that, because 268 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:33,360 we had that, we, we have that persona that we have to keep up and not that Santa doesn't 269 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:38,760 drink. I mean, cause they give him Sherry and mincemeat pie and stuff like that. Some 270 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:43,640 traditions, some traditions, they do it. You know, sometimes there's some tequila left, 271 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:49,800 you know, and down in, you know, the south of the border. But the thing is that you don't 272 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:54,800 want to stigmatize the people that you've got there. So we do try to make conscious 273 00:25:54,800 --> 00:26:03,240 choices there. I'm an old, I'm an old soldier and I love a dirty word. I just, sorry. I 274 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:09,480 mean, that's just military. I have to work really hard on that when I'm around, when 275 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:15,280 I'm around others and, and look, it's been good for me. It's gotten me to call my, call 276 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:21,560 my, call my language. Cause I, you know, sometimes, and it's not that I just like to cuss, it's 277 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:27,200 like sometimes a bad word just seems to be right there, emphatic at a certain point. 278 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:31,400 You know, it just gets the point across. It just fits in so well. But I think we ought 279 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:37,480 to stay away from that with our stuff. We also watch things we talk about. Yes. I mean, 280 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:42,720 you know, a lot of times if there are children around, even if it's not an event, like it's, 281 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,920 it's the summer or it's wherever, if there are children around, we really stop and think 282 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:51,760 about those things. I mean, just because there are a lot of kids that know us that way. And 283 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:56,360 there are a lot of kids that don't know us, but they see us out. Yes. And they think they 284 00:26:56,360 --> 00:27:03,800 wonder. And so we would never want to put any sort of impression that if they were to 285 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:09,720 really think that we were Santa and Mrs. Claus, you know, and be struck, be that, that we 286 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:15,040 would not want them to ever think that Santa and Mrs. Claus are not good people and want 287 00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:21,320 the best for others. I mean, there have been lots of instances where we've been in stores 288 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:25,880 and children in front of us will turn around and stare and whisper and point and stare 289 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:32,600 and whisper point. Parking lots even. Parking lots. We've been at events and we are not 290 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:38,040 wearing anything relatable to Santa and Mrs. Claus. We're not even wearing red, you know, 291 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:45,300 like, and it's just like, sometimes kids think, oh my gosh, I think that's them. And you know, 292 00:27:45,300 --> 00:27:50,240 so we do have a lot of fun with that, but we would never want children to think that 293 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:57,000 Santa and Mrs. Claus are not fun, real people who care about others and want the best for 294 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:01,600 others. Yeah. Yeah. No, I mean, it definitely makes sense of how they would make that connect. 295 00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:05,080 Like, you know, the big white beard. And I feel like that's like a very basic thing is 296 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:10,760 like Camille, you, you look like Mrs. Claus, like how I would imagine, right? But without 297 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:14,280 Kent right there, like I wouldn't make that connection, but it's the big beard that makes 298 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:21,040 you kind of go, oh, that guy kind of looks like Santa. Wait a second. Yeah. That's right. 299 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,960 That's exactly right. And they're over there scratching their head. Is he or is he not? 300 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,960 And you see the two kids whispering and pointing back at each other. And then she's over there 301 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:38,920 like, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You see them. They're like a little sitting up straight 302 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:43,520 in their church pew. I mean, they straight up, they get like, yeah. And they're like, 303 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:47,760 we gotta be good in line. Don't grab for that candy. Cause my bank will let you have it. 304 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:53,440 We don't want to hear him say that. Yeah. Yeah. But it's a lot of fun. Um, no, a lot 305 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,960 of people ask us like, well, you're just doing this for money. I mean, like, is it a big 306 00:28:56,960 --> 00:29:00,920 moneymaker? That's why you're like, you know, doing this or whatever. I get asked that a 307 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:04,720 whole lot because people, some of the guys are like, I'll just grow a beard out and do 308 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:10,720 what you're doing. You probably make a killing. Right. And I was like, not exactly. Yeah. 309 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:15,600 And for us, it's not about that. Yes, we do charge corporations and some events that we 310 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:20,480 do, but there are lots of events that we do that we never charge for and we don't intend 311 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:27,320 to charge for. And that is because we feel like, you know, if I charge a corporation 312 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:33,680 to we're coming in and we're doing their Christmas staff party or whatever, you know, and then 313 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:40,520 we feel like we can use those to then give back. So we don't charge when we're in our 314 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:47,760 local parade. And when we go to a local school and see 800 kids in four hours, you know, 315 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:54,240 I mean, because and then we go to some single parent homes that, you know, where a lot of 316 00:29:54,240 --> 00:30:00,600 kids are just from situations where the parent or parents or grandparents or whoever they're 317 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:04,480 being, you know, they're with their guardians don't have the kind of funds that it would 318 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:12,300 take to pay us to come and visit them at their home or they can't travel to where we are. 319 00:30:12,300 --> 00:30:18,160 And so we just feel like that if we charge a corporation, then we can in turn take that 320 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:25,000 and travel to these other places to see children and do things for children that may not otherwise 321 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:31,760 have that opportunity. So and Santa's, you know, typically charged for home visits and 322 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:38,600 things like that. The problem is that and it's and you have to see it from their side 323 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:43,840 too is it takes a lot of time and energy and money to have the suits and the up tape and 324 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:47,560 all of this. And they got to get then they got to get ready and then they got to drive 325 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:51,360 to your house and they got to do this. And they, you know, there's all of this there. 326 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:56,160 So they feel like they have to charge, but they're in a different situation than we are. 327 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:00,360 That's what they typically do is his home visits all year long and they may not do any 328 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:05,400 corporate gigs. We do some higher. We do a lot of hiring stuff and that just kind of 329 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:13,560 happened because of people like what we do. And it's revolved into that so that now we 330 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:22,920 can give back, which is, you know, we're able to earn money at a at a higher rate from those 331 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:28,260 corporate entities and businesses and things that can't afford to pay for us to be there. 332 00:31:28,260 --> 00:31:34,600 And we we give them a bang up bang up job when we do. But the but the funds they allow 333 00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:40,360 us, yes, to keep up some basic wardrobe stuff. And then the rest of it allows us to travel 334 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:47,380 and go help these other people who are, you know, they they need it. They need it. Those 335 00:31:47,380 --> 00:31:52,180 children need it. You know, when they're in a single pamlet parent home, sometimes they 336 00:31:52,180 --> 00:31:56,760 need someone to say, hey, I'm proud of you. You know, and we've got we've got a couple 337 00:31:56,760 --> 00:32:03,640 that you know that their mom's message throughout the year and they say, hey, you know, made 338 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:08,940 all a's, all a's and one B and stuff. And then like I wanted to make sure Santa and 339 00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:14,560 Mrs. C knew that. And they'll send it says I know mama's got the hook up. So, you know, 340 00:32:14,560 --> 00:32:18,400 tell you mama's like, make sure. And then as soon as we come in the door, because we've 341 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:23,480 seen these children grow up, you know, they come in and just bear hug us at the door, 342 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:28,500 you know, because they know that we're not related to them. We're not. We're just we're 343 00:32:28,500 --> 00:32:34,680 just a couple of couple of folks that really truly love them. And they don't know us from 344 00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:42,560 Adam's house cat. You know, they really don't. So but that's fine. It's it's about unconditional 345 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:49,160 love. Yeah. You know, and it's that's a hard thing to find in this world now. Yeah. Yeah. 346 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:53,640 We're to be placed in that situation. Yeah. Yeah. And it sounds like that's really at 347 00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:58,400 the heart of it for you guys is that peace, love, happiness. And the one that hit me the 348 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:03,880 most was a glimmer of hope. And it sounds like that's really what you aim to do by doing 349 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:09,880 these house visits to I can't think of a better word, but the less fortunate or single family 350 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:15,420 sort of single parent households and kids like kids that really do need that extra little 351 00:33:15,420 --> 00:33:24,240 push. Yeah. And I came up, you know, throughout my life. I'm, you know, I'm in my maybe 58 352 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:31,080 year and a couple of months. So life has been interesting, but it has been definitely hard. 353 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:36,440 And I've had a rough go of some things when I was younger. And as a young man and dead 354 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:44,000 stuff, and I realized that, you know, things could have probably turned out a little bit 355 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:51,200 differently if I'd had somebody that had done that for me. Yeah, if that makes sense. So, 356 00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:55,960 you know, the easiest way to break something or to stop a stop something is to absolutely 357 00:33:55,960 --> 00:34:04,620 to say, no, I'm not going to be like that when I grow up. Right. So that's the big deal. 358 00:34:04,620 --> 00:34:10,280 And I've had some not so fun careers. And this is the chance for me to be able to love 359 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:17,920 and give back in a way that I feel good. Yeah. And I can make them feel good. And I feel 360 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:23,840 like it's trying to me. Some ways you feel like it's almost a penance that you're doing 361 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:29,240 to try to right the wrongs of, you know, of the past. It's not really that bad. But you 362 00:34:29,240 --> 00:34:33,680 know, you kind of feel that way. It's like, Hey, I am doing some things good. And I'm 363 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:39,960 not asking for anything in return. I'm just, right. You know what? My heart's full today. 364 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:44,520 Yeah. You know, and it takes a lot of energy to, you know, when we have those difficult 365 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:48,320 situations that pulls you down and then you've got children who come in and parents that 366 00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:54,400 come in that are energized and it pushes you back up. Yeah. And we have to, we have to 367 00:34:54,400 --> 00:35:03,040 be full on giving, giving, giving, giving from the heart, you know, all nonstop for 368 00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:09,640 two months, but then, you know, throughout the year when we see opportunities. Yeah. 369 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:16,160 And I think my background in education, like I said, I was in public education and Mississippi 370 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:23,420 has a large population of what is considered low, middle and lower class. And I hate to 371 00:35:23,420 --> 00:35:30,440 use those terms, but that is socioeconomically where they are. Okay. And based on different 372 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:37,600 factors, but I just felt like I saw a lot of needs that I wish I could have helped over 373 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:43,720 the years, you know, and I was a single mom at one time. So I remember those, you know, 374 00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:47,240 there were a couple of years that were kind of thin in there, you know, the budget was 375 00:35:47,240 --> 00:35:54,600 thin. And so I always felt like I had family that I could fall back on and friends that 376 00:35:54,600 --> 00:36:01,480 I could fall back bump, but everybody doesn't have that. And I just, when we started doing 377 00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:06,360 this and I got involved more, I was like, these are some of the children I want us to 378 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:13,560 talk, you know, to look for in our community. And so that's what we've done. And yeah, it's 379 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:19,760 just, yes, it makes us feel good. I mean, I'm not trying to sound altruistic at all, 380 00:36:19,760 --> 00:36:25,520 but it, you know, it gives us, it gives back probably more to us than we give out, I would 381 00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:32,880 say for sure. Yeah, it does. It does because people, you know, it's just, if you do it 382 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:39,920 with an open mind and open heart and you're just giving, you know, yeah, people don't 383 00:36:39,920 --> 00:36:50,560 realize that in giving that you, if you do it with true intent, that yes, it makes such 384 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:56,240 a powerful impact in your own life. And you may not see it right then, you know, but it 385 00:36:56,240 --> 00:37:01,000 may be six months down the road. You start to see the fruits of the seeds that you've 386 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:06,760 planted and stuff. And then you, you know, it helps you to become a better person too. 387 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:13,880 Hey, everyone, just a quick message. You know that my mission with this podcast is to share 388 00:37:13,880 --> 00:37:18,560 stories of influence and impact so that we can help more people help more people. But 389 00:37:18,560 --> 00:37:24,240 to do that, I need your support. Please rate, review and share this podcast. If I could 390 00:37:24,240 --> 00:37:28,800 ask for just one favor, it's to just leave a review. It takes about 10 seconds and a 391 00:37:28,800 --> 00:37:33,800 few clicks, but it means the world to me and could inspire someone else to make a difference. 392 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:43,400 Thank you so much. Now back to the show. What's also sticking with me from your guys, 393 00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:49,680 a story is this all started because you didn't know shave November. Like it's that's such 394 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:55,440 like a small, but you didn't do that to do anything. Like that was just like a fun, oh, 395 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:59,960 it's, it's for awareness. It's for this. And I feel like that's something that people do 396 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:06,440 kind of forget is these things can happen by accident by happenstance like that. And 397 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:10,480 what you're just saying right now is you can do good things and not see the fruits for 398 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:16,280 six, seven months, years down the road. Yeah. And I think that's something to kind of for 399 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:21,020 folks to keep in mind too, is that nothing, nothing that just happens overnight, whether 400 00:38:21,020 --> 00:38:27,960 it's purposeful or an accident or whatever. Yeah. So I say like that young boy that, you 401 00:38:27,960 --> 00:38:32,880 know, first young boy that, you know, he gets his report card sent to us all the time. That 402 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:38,440 little fella is the sweetest kid, but he's had a hard, he's had a hard go of things. 403 00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:45,400 You know, he's in a single family home. She, his mama loves him. Okay. But he needs a daddy. 404 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:52,800 He needs a male, he needs a stable male figure in his life. And, you know, when he sees us, 405 00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:59,960 he's able to kind of realize that there is somebody out there that does take an interest 406 00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:08,440 in him from not just a female side, but from a guy side, you know, every guy at some point 407 00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:13,440 in their life needs, needs some guy time. Okay. That's just part of our development. 408 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:18,840 That's who we are just as much as we need mom time, you know? So it's just crucial at 409 00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:23,760 different times. And I think that was, that's the ability to be able to, to help these kids 410 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:28,920 like that. You know? Yeah. And with that, something that I was curious about in your 411 00:39:28,920 --> 00:39:32,720 guys's take on is that you went to Santa school, you met all these other different types of 412 00:39:32,720 --> 00:39:39,380 Santas, different ethnicities, colors, languages, you know, like what is the, what is the significance 413 00:39:39,380 --> 00:39:44,240 of that representation by skin color, by accents? Cause that's something that I noticed right 414 00:39:44,240 --> 00:39:49,200 away is like the Santas that I've met have, I guess more California accents. Apparently 415 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:53,120 there's a California accent. I didn't know that was a thing. But when I started talking 416 00:39:53,120 --> 00:40:02,160 to you guys, I was like, okay, it's obvious. And you can hear hours. Yeah, exactly. So 417 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:07,880 that's what made me curious is there's another, there's a podcast I did before where the woman 418 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:12,960 original was kind of on the fence about it because of her Southern accent, because you 419 00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:16,600 know, people think you're uneducated or you're this, or they make up these stories about 420 00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:22,120 yourself. And I was almost like, I think that's even better of a reason for you to do it because 421 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:25,680 what if there's a little girl out there with that accent that, that sounds the way you 422 00:40:25,680 --> 00:40:30,320 do and has been told those same things and can now see you and be like, oh, she has her 423 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:36,160 master. She did this. She's working for this nonprofit. And so to kind of pull it back 424 00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:41,360 to that original question and your guys's experience, what is the significance of that 425 00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:47,120 representation in the world of Santa? Well, I will tell you, this goes back to my, you 426 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:53,600 asked for, what is our intent? Okay. With this episode. And for me, my intent with the 427 00:40:53,600 --> 00:41:02,800 episode, with everything I do with Mrs. Claus is it matters not what you sound like, look 428 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:14,040 like, or dress like. It is how you treat others that is going to create that connection. That's 429 00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:18,920 what people are going to remember. So I have a lot of times that I've had people say, but 430 00:41:18,920 --> 00:41:22,640 you're, you know, you're not wearing the little bonnet or you're not wearing your apron and 431 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:27,700 you're not at, you know, cooking cookies at the North Pole. You know, do kids really believe 432 00:41:27,700 --> 00:41:33,080 that you're Santa, that you're Mrs. Claus? And I always say, it doesn't, none of that 433 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:40,520 matters. It's how you made that child feel a warm smile, a kind word, and a pat on the 434 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:47,560 back will have any child convinced that you care about them. And that's, that's all that 435 00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:56,080 matters to me when I went in this role, that is all that matters to me. That's my intent. 436 00:41:56,080 --> 00:42:01,720 And we're active with the kids. Most of them sit in a chair and you come by in a procession 437 00:42:01,720 --> 00:42:05,680 and you're just like, Hey kid, what do you want for Christmas? And stuff. And then they're 438 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:10,640 older gentlemen. I get it. They may not be able to stand on their feet. We're younger. 439 00:42:10,640 --> 00:42:16,040 And yes, we tend to be more active with them. We're, we don't sit down hardly any, most 440 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:21,280 of the time we're up and we take pictures with them. We're, we're interacting with them. 441 00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:26,280 If we can sneak up behind somebody and, and be mischievous and look over what they're 442 00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:31,400 writing on their list or something, we try to do that. Or we might even go over and say, 443 00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:37,680 Ooh, that cookie looks good. Well, it is that, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Well, and I think, you 444 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:43,400 know, the diversity that you're talking about really is like the whole point. I mean, first 445 00:42:43,400 --> 00:42:48,440 of all, some children don't know that they're, that Santa's out there. They, you know, this 446 00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:56,200 portrayal of Santa from the Coca-Cola Santa in the fifties and sixties is it's a big, 447 00:42:56,200 --> 00:43:04,360 fat, jolly white dude with pink cheeks and you know, a hearty laugh. But that's not the 448 00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:11,200 case. I mean, I think Santa, because of the way we feel about it, Santa is all colors. 449 00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:17,520 He's all ethnicities. He's all religions. He's, you know what I mean? Like, and I, I'm, 450 00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:23,120 it's just hard for me to think that you have to put Santa and Mrs. Claus in this little 451 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:29,320 box because as children, they're all different. We're all unique as human beings, no matter 452 00:43:29,320 --> 00:43:39,320 what race, what age, what ethnicity, what socio, anything. We're all different. So why 453 00:43:39,320 --> 00:43:47,000 wouldn't Santa be different? And I think it lets children see that you, those different 454 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:53,280 Santas that we met, Santa speaks your language or, you know, Santa's the same skin tone as 455 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:58,640 you, or Santa comes from the same area that you do, or Santa likes cowboy boots just like 456 00:43:58,640 --> 00:44:05,360 you do. And so there are a lot of different ways I feel like to look at it. And for me, 457 00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:14,880 Santa is just as Kent said, Santa is a spirit and a kindness and a generosity and a caring 458 00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:19,800 person and he can look all different sorts of ways to us. 459 00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:26,200 Yeah. And people do have, you know, do people do have some pretty strict thoughts about 460 00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:31,160 that. Some like, Oh, I don't like Santa because, you know, that's represents commercialism 461 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:35,640 and not, you know, the true, there's true reason for Christmas, the reason for the seeds 462 00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:40,120 and everybody says, right. And it's like, no, that's not necessarily true. You know, 463 00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:44,880 we're, we're doing that. Yeah, we're doing that. I'm not, I'm not trying to promote 464 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:51,720 commercialism or anything there to represent. And she is too. There's the spirit of Christmas. 465 00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:57,760 Yeah. And that's completely different. And that actually aligns with, you know, the, 466 00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:02,560 the reason for the season, the Christian beliefs of that, you know, but that's the way that 467 00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:07,000 believe that's the way we believe. We don't care who you are. We don't know what your 468 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:12,320 background is. We don't care whether you believe or not. Well, actually we do. I mean, you 469 00:45:12,320 --> 00:45:16,440 would believe and, and, you know, and, you know, and have, and have some of the same 470 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:22,640 faith that we do, but if you don't, that's okay. We still love you. We don't care. I'm 471 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:25,360 still going to hug you. I'm still going to pick at you. I'm still going to play with 472 00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:30,000 you and stuff. And we're going to have a good time. And I don't care where the, where are 473 00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:34,240 you from? You know, if, if you give me half the time of the day, we're going to have a 474 00:45:34,240 --> 00:45:39,720 good time. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of just like getting back to that again, that root of what the 475 00:45:39,720 --> 00:45:44,280 spirit mean, like the holiday spirit, the, the, what Santa means, what Christmas is all 476 00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:49,600 about. And yeah, sure. There, there is that aspect, like you said, like the Coca-Cola 477 00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:54,120 Santa, like it, it does very much play into that commercialism, right? Like it's, it's 478 00:45:54,120 --> 00:46:01,160 basically advertising for the most part, but just because that's the perceived, the perceived 479 00:46:01,160 --> 00:46:05,840 perception, I guess, doesn't mean that you guys can't really fall and live and walk in 480 00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:13,800 that what it is really about. Yeah. Well, the red, the red suit, that was Coca-Cola. 481 00:46:13,800 --> 00:46:17,860 If anybody goes back and really looks at it, Coca-Cola's marketing team actually came 482 00:46:17,860 --> 00:46:22,280 up with that and put the guy in red suit and did not wear red suit like that. Interesting. 483 00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:28,920 A lot of times it was browns. A lot of times it was greens. It was an old world type look, 484 00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:35,920 things of fur and things because he was trudging through cold weather to come visit kids in 485 00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:43,240 the middle of the night, you know, and leave gifts. But, but yeah, the current vision that 486 00:46:43,240 --> 00:46:49,640 people now see with it is there. And yes, it is hard going out in public sometimes. 487 00:46:49,640 --> 00:46:55,440 And you know, somebody made up, made up, and I don't, this is not my thing, but somebody, 488 00:46:55,440 --> 00:47:01,000 somebody told me, he says, yeah, yeah, you don't, you guys don't get any rest. And I 489 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:07,760 was like, what are you talking about? He says, you're one of the second most famous individuals 490 00:47:07,760 --> 00:47:16,080 on the planet. Says everybody knows Jesus and everybody knows Santa. And he said, and 491 00:47:16,080 --> 00:47:21,440 I was like, and I'm like, yeah. And I said, I'm not, you know, I don't want to be in that, 492 00:47:21,440 --> 00:47:28,000 in that thing. Regardless of your image, the image of Santa is, is, is, is almost as powerful 493 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:34,280 as the image of worldwide recognition as, you know, Jesus or somebody else. And I'm 494 00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:40,960 like, well, yeah, great. That's your thing. But it made me think about, yeah, people do 495 00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:48,740 recognize us more than we thought. Yeah. Well, more than they registered, if that makes sense. 496 00:47:48,740 --> 00:47:53,580 So that, that also played into, well, you know, we have to make sure that we keep a, 497 00:47:53,580 --> 00:47:58,880 keep a good image. Yeah. I was going to say, maybe, maybe don't put me in that category 498 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:05,120 with that. But I hear what you're getting at and that is true. That part is true. Yeah. 499 00:48:05,120 --> 00:48:09,040 I said, that's some stuff I'm not even, that's a different, but yeah, we don't want to be 500 00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:18,920 in that category. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's, yeah. I'm not that good. You know, 501 00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:25,880 I love it all and everything and I love Jesus, but I'm telling you, I don't measure up. 502 00:48:25,880 --> 00:48:31,360 Gotcha. So, yeah. And I mean, we're, we'll get more information from where everybody 503 00:48:31,360 --> 00:48:35,040 can follow you on socials and everything in a moment, but there is one story that you 504 00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:41,080 guys told me about that I thought was the one that I, in my opinion, butchered about 505 00:48:41,080 --> 00:48:48,840 there was that little girl that her dad said her name. Yeah. Can you just tell that? That's 506 00:48:48,840 --> 00:48:57,800 the story I want on record for me to even go back on and re-listen to. Okay. So, we 507 00:48:57,800 --> 00:49:04,680 spend a lot of time every season at a reindeer farm. It's a fully functioning agritourism 508 00:49:04,680 --> 00:49:09,800 reindeer farm in Bowling Green, Kentucky. And the owners are friends of ours and their 509 00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:15,000 family. We just, we love them. But anyway, we go up there and spend a good bit of time. 510 00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:19,120 And one of the first years we were there, it was probably the second year we were there, 511 00:49:19,120 --> 00:49:26,240 a mom and dad came with their daughter and they were in line with some other friends 512 00:49:26,240 --> 00:49:31,360 that they had come with. So a little group of the girls that were friends. And while 513 00:49:31,360 --> 00:49:39,200 they were in line, I heard someone referred to the child by her name. And so, but they 514 00:49:39,200 --> 00:49:44,480 were two or three people back, children back, and we were working with other children. And 515 00:49:44,480 --> 00:49:52,080 when it was her turn, I called her by her name and I said, Oh, Valentina, we are so 516 00:49:52,080 --> 00:49:59,840 excited to see you. We've been waiting on you all day. And the dad absolutely was gobsmacked. 517 00:49:59,840 --> 00:50:05,880 I mean, he had no clue what had just happened. He was asking his wife, like, did you tell 518 00:50:05,880 --> 00:50:12,360 them her name or, and she was like, no. And so he just was floored. He had no clue what 519 00:50:12,360 --> 00:50:18,600 had happened. And so we had a lot of fun with the child. We talked to her, there were other 520 00:50:18,600 --> 00:50:24,280 children in line, so they left. So later when we didn't have any children with us, he walked 521 00:50:24,280 --> 00:50:31,480 up and he asked me, how did you know her name? And I said, well, Santa told me. He said, 522 00:50:31,480 --> 00:50:36,680 what? And I said, well, you know, he's Santa, right? He knows all the children's names. 523 00:50:36,680 --> 00:50:42,240 Like we have a book and he was like, ha ha ha. Yeah. Okay. I mean, he still was like, 524 00:50:42,240 --> 00:50:47,040 what in the world? And he just kept on. So we just kind of kept it up and you know, it 525 00:50:47,040 --> 00:50:53,400 was fine. It was a lot of fun. They came back two or three times that same within like a 526 00:50:53,400 --> 00:50:58,440 week because the little girl had such a good time at the reindeer farm and enjoyed being 527 00:50:58,440 --> 00:51:03,400 with us. And she had an emerald green dress. She was the first day with the Christmas star 528 00:51:03,400 --> 00:51:09,000 on it. Yes. And she loved my fancy dress. And she had been talking about nothing but 529 00:51:09,000 --> 00:51:14,280 the emerald green dress. This is called. And so the dad still kept asking questions. And 530 00:51:14,280 --> 00:51:20,000 I was like, where's where where the clauses it's, it's really okay. So I never told him. 531 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:27,720 Well, apparently the mom didn't either. So the next year they came back and this time 532 00:51:27,720 --> 00:51:34,240 she brought her letter, the little girl did. And the dad had also written on the letter. 533 00:51:34,240 --> 00:51:42,400 P.S. My dad wants, and he named a specific shirt color, a little design it had on it, 534 00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:47,480 what size and all of this. And so, but he wasn't with the little girl this time and 535 00:51:47,480 --> 00:51:54,560 the mom. So I talked to the mom and she said, oh, I have seen the letter, of course, and 536 00:51:54,560 --> 00:52:00,800 he's trying to be sneaky. So I have found the shirt that he is looking for and it is 537 00:52:00,800 --> 00:52:06,360 going to be wrapped under the tree from Santa and Mrs. Claus. And I said, oh, wonderful. 538 00:52:06,360 --> 00:52:10,800 You know, so she really kept this up as well. She had figured out by that point that I had 539 00:52:10,800 --> 00:52:17,400 obviously heard the child's name from someone else the prior year. But the husband had 540 00:52:17,400 --> 00:52:22,880 not. He had no clue. No. And he's like an engineer. They're from Germany. It's like 541 00:52:22,880 --> 00:52:28,520 this super powerful engineer over in bowling. Very intelligent, but he was floored. He could 542 00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:34,320 not figure it out. Since he didn't come that time, I said, well, let's do a little video 543 00:52:34,320 --> 00:52:41,360 for him. So we called him by name and he had never introduced himself to us, but we called 544 00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:46,480 him by name and we just sent him a little private message. We're on video. She sent 545 00:52:46,480 --> 00:52:51,840 it to him and apparently he was so excited. He showed it to everybody in his office and 546 00:52:51,840 --> 00:52:57,880 just like that. But we think he was more excited about us than poor old Valentina was. And 547 00:52:57,880 --> 00:53:04,880 Valentina loves her. Yes. I mean, I look for her every year. She only comes from where 548 00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:10,560 they are. She looks for me. They call ahead to make sure we're going to be there. She, 549 00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:16,560 we just have a wonderful time with them. And this past year they went to Germany to visit 550 00:53:16,560 --> 00:53:21,760 family and it was like in October and they have Christmas markets there. And Germany 551 00:53:21,760 --> 00:53:27,600 has lots of Christmas markets year round, but especially during the fall. And so she 552 00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:32,280 had written her letter already because her parents had told her when we go to Germany 553 00:53:32,280 --> 00:53:38,280 to visit grandparents, we will be able to see Santa and Mrs. Claus when we were there. 554 00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:46,760 Well, she thought that the parents meant us. So when she got there with her letter, she 555 00:53:46,760 --> 00:53:52,080 walked up to the market and could see the Santa and her parents were like, there he 556 00:53:52,080 --> 00:53:59,520 is. And she said, where that's not him. And where's Mrs. Claus? She's not here either. 557 00:53:59,520 --> 00:54:04,240 And they were like, well, this is, this is him. You know, this is, they were trying to 558 00:54:04,240 --> 00:54:08,440 kind of appease her and say, well, go ahead and give your letter. And she said, no, there's 559 00:54:08,440 --> 00:54:14,840 no way I'm giving my letter to these fake Santa and Mrs. Claus. I want the real deal. 560 00:54:14,840 --> 00:54:22,040 They're at home in Bowling Green. When we go back, I'll go see them. So there are, 561 00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:28,760 she carried that little letter from Kentucky to Germany and then says, not no, but heck 562 00:54:28,760 --> 00:54:33,760 no. I'm going back to Bowling Green. I know where the folks are. So, and gave it is really 563 00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:37,280 one of the funnest things. And so this is our, this would probably be our fourth year 564 00:54:37,280 --> 00:54:43,520 to see her and I can't wait. I mean, we watched her grow up and just have formed a special 565 00:54:43,520 --> 00:54:49,400 bond with this child. And it's just, it's kind of her family too. I mean, it's gotten 566 00:54:49,400 --> 00:54:54,040 yeah, for sure. And it's just really one of the funnest things that we do, but that dad, 567 00:54:54,040 --> 00:54:58,640 boy, I had him go in. They've invited us to go to Germany with them sometime. I mean, 568 00:54:58,640 --> 00:55:04,040 it was like, yeah, it's, it's, it's pretty crazy. And then she was like, Valentina wanted 569 00:55:04,040 --> 00:55:08,680 to come home with Mrs. Claus, you know, and stuff was like, yeah, you know, we don't have 570 00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:14,680 any grandkids right now. So heck yeah, come on kiddo. So anyway, it's a lot of fun. 571 00:55:14,680 --> 00:55:20,080 Absolutely. I love it. Yeah. Perfect. I'm glad I have that story on record now. Awesome 572 00:55:20,080 --> 00:55:25,760 guys. Well, we're getting closer already at the hour. So if people want to go ahead and 573 00:55:25,760 --> 00:55:28,960 follow you on socials, check you out more, where would be the best places for them to 574 00:55:28,960 --> 00:55:29,960 find you? 575 00:55:29,960 --> 00:55:36,320 On Facebook, we are Santa Breckenridge. I think it's actually santa.breckenridge. And 576 00:55:36,320 --> 00:55:44,680 Breckenridge is B-R-E-C-K-E-N-R-I-D-G-E, just like in Colorado. And then on Instagram, 577 00:55:44,680 --> 00:55:50,880 Santa Breckenridge with no spaces or anything. And yeah. 578 00:55:50,880 --> 00:55:55,520 And I may have a link to an article that was written about us in Mississippi Today magazine 579 00:55:55,520 --> 00:56:01,280 last year. Yeah. Today in Mississippi. Yeah. It's the largest magazine in Mississippi, 580 00:56:01,280 --> 00:56:07,240 but they picked up on our story last year and came up. Yeah. We were actually the cover 581 00:56:07,240 --> 00:56:11,280 feature story. So they came and talked a lot about, you know, what we do. And they actually 582 00:56:11,280 --> 00:56:15,360 were watching us in an event and they took pictures of us while we were interacting with 583 00:56:15,360 --> 00:56:20,760 kids and adults and stuff like that. So it's a, it's a really fun, feel good, feel good 584 00:56:20,760 --> 00:56:25,080 story. So we may have a link to that out there. I don't know whether we got you a link or 585 00:56:25,080 --> 00:56:30,320 not. I think you saw the magazine. You saw the magazine. Yeah. You saw the magazine. 586 00:56:30,320 --> 00:56:35,080 I saw the magazine. I think I took a picture of it and I should be able to find it, but 587 00:56:35,080 --> 00:56:38,200 yeah, as always all the information, your guys's socials are going to be down in the 588 00:56:38,200 --> 00:56:45,760 show notes as well. And if I find the link, it'll be in the description. If not, maybe 589 00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:52,440 people won't even hear this part. So we'll see how it goes. But yeah, no, thank you guys. 590 00:56:52,440 --> 00:56:58,000 I appreciate it. Have fun doing whatever Santa and Mrs. Claus does during the summer. And 591 00:56:58,000 --> 00:57:02,640 I will see you guys later. All right. Well, we'll say one other thing. You gotta stay 592 00:57:02,640 --> 00:57:11,040 frosty. I love it. Thanks guys. Bye man. Love you. Bye. And as always, thank you guys for 593 00:57:11,040 --> 00:57:16,760 taking time out of your day to listen to today's episode. I had such a wonderful time reconnecting 594 00:57:16,760 --> 00:57:23,800 with Kent and Camille, and I'm sure you guys learned some great stuff from this episode 595 00:57:23,800 --> 00:57:28,280 as well. I think that my biggest takeaway from today's episode is just how important 596 00:57:28,280 --> 00:57:34,020 it is to be open to opportunity and just really understand that whether or not you plant these 597 00:57:34,020 --> 00:57:39,280 seeds on purpose or on accident, like in the case of Kent growing his beard out for that 598 00:57:39,280 --> 00:57:45,780 very first time, that things take time, that opportunity doesn't always happen the moment 599 00:57:45,780 --> 00:57:51,720 you make a decision. Sometimes it's a little bit down the road, but it's those seeds that 600 00:57:51,720 --> 00:57:59,280 grow into the fruit of change, of possibility, of joy, hope, and just really being a glimmer 601 00:57:59,280 --> 00:58:05,000 of happiness and alive of someone else. Thank you again to today's episode sponsors. All 602 00:58:05,000 --> 00:58:08,880 their information will be down in the show notes. And if you guys could take just a quick 603 00:58:08,880 --> 00:58:14,840 second to leave a five star rating and review for today's episode on this podcast, I would 604 00:58:14,840 --> 00:58:19,880 truly appreciate it. It takes five seconds to go down, leave a rating and review. Let 605 00:58:19,880 --> 00:58:24,600 me know what you think of today's episode, what you think of the podcast overall, and 606 00:58:24,600 --> 00:58:29,760 be sure to share the episode. The more people that we can get to hear the messages that 607 00:58:29,760 --> 00:58:35,280 we push on this episode and in this podcast, the more we'll be able to help more people 608 00:58:35,280 --> 00:58:42,040 help more people. So as always, remember to have fun, stay safe, and be yourself. I'll 609 00:58:42,040 --> 00:58:49,040 see you guys next time. Bye.