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| Mickey Lawrie, Ruben, Minnie Lynda |
He’s not a big man, but he has a huge heart.
His mission is to give back to the
community and to make little kids shriek with laughter.
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| Linda & Richard Grierson |
For the last few months, Ruben has been
working to organize a Night of the Kings party on January 6th for
island children. It’s an important
event for Catholics in Mexico, celebrated when the three wise men purportedly
arrived in Bethlehem with gifts for baby Jesus.
In the ensuing weeks, a steady stream of
ex-pats and locals arrived at the restaurant, gifts in hand, adding to the towering
stack of toys.
Very quickly, the brightly
coloured stack of dolls, stuffed animals, board games, soccer balls, books, and
action figures spilled over onto the floor and had to be tucked away in a
storage area to make way for yet more gifts. Eventually, over 700 presents were donated to the festivities.
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| Some of the helpers - T Vermu photo |
And then there was food; complimentary
lunches for everyone who attended the fiesta, put together by many helping
hands, including Ruben’s staff and more local ex-pats. Enthusiastic volunteers controlled the
traffic, kept the lines of excited youngsters moving toward Santa, and photographed
the crazy fun. So many helpers! Wow!
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| Ruben's staff - R&L Grierson photo |
On the day of the fiesta, Mickey (Lawrie) and
Minnie (me) arrived via decorated golf cart with our minders, Linda and Richard
Grierson.
The noise was deafening. There were kids everywhere, covering both
sidewalks and spilling across the blocked-off portion of Guerrero Avenue where the restaurant is located. Many couldn’t decide what to do first: get
their gift from Santa, or have their photograph taken with Mickey and Minnie. Small hands grabbed at our legs or
clutched our hands while having their photo taken.
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| He's a bit afraid of the huge mice! |
We get a lot of pleasure out of these events;
the only downside is our limited vision through the eye-holes means we can’t
really see the kids, just feel them as they excitedly launch themselves at us. It’s pretty darn funny at times. I often wonder what would happen if I tripped
in my foam, oversized, high-heel-shaped Minnie shoes. Would I disappear in a four-foot-deep pile of
small wriggling bodies?
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| John Pasnau and friend, Grierson photo |
On the other hand, Santa (John Pasnau)
patiently sat in the tropical sun wearing his very hot vintage Santa suit. He smiled and chatted with each child as they
arrived in front of him. John is the
quintessential Santa Claus, customized for the tropics with flip-flops on his
feet instead of black boots. At the
party, the little girls were lined up on his right side, and the boys to his
left. That way, his helpers could pick
gifts that were hopefully appropriate for the child. We only managed to stay at the party for
forty-five minutes before our stiflingly hot costumes forced us to leave. We are in absolute awe of Santa – he was
there when we arrived, and still there when we departed. Such perseverance, such stamina! Great job, Santa!
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| Mickey and Minnie, with our minder Linda G. |
Through it all, I caught glimpses of Ruben
looking stressed but happy at what he had created.
He was everywhere, checking on the supply of
gifts, having his photo taken with the children, ensuring everyone received a
present and a complimentary lunch.
Well done, Ruben, the man with the huge heart.
Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, Thomas, and Perla
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| Lots of kids and lots of noise - R Grierson photo |
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