Steve Radford

Unforgetable Moments With Dad



Posted: Friday, April 27, 2007

by

It was late December of 1966. Three hundred students and twelve teachers lined the street in front of Huff Lane Elementary School in Roanoke , Virginia for one of the most anticipated events of the year. The first graders didn't know what to expect but the rest of us, the veterans knew from past experience that in a few moments, a fire truck would be coming down our street and Santa Claus himself would be riding on the back. In hindsight, the tradition of having Santa visit the city's elementary schools on a fire truck every Christmas was probably unique to Roanoke and one more thing about my childhood that I took for granted. But there was one thing about this visit that I recognized as special even at the age of eight. The man that would be riding by on the back of the fire truck wasn't really Santa. It was Charles Radford, Principal of nearby Preston Park Elementary School , my Dad!

Now few things are sweeter to an eight year old than to know something that nobody else knows. While I admit the possibility that I let the secret slip to a few of my closest confidants, I am certain that they did not believe me. So here we all were, two hundred and forty nine "upper classmen" crazy with anticipation about the fire truck and Santa, fifty first graders kicking dirt and wondering why we were standing in the cold and me standing there with a smug, knowing look on my face.

A loud siren brought cheers from the shivering kids as all eyes turned in the direction of the noise. The red truck turned onto our street. Moving slowly, it was clearly not on the way to a fire. The cheers grew louder as the children spotted Santa standing on the back running board, hanging on with one hand and ringing a string of bells with the other. He shouted a hearty ‘Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas'!

As the truck approached my position, I made eye contact with my Dad and his next action was unexpected and unforgettable. My forty eight year old Dad, who was probably picked for this role because he could fill out the Santa suit without pillows, jumped off of the moving fire truck, ran over and gave me a hug. His leap was loving and spontaneous. No doubt a loving action because he couldn't resist the chance to elevate his son to the position of most important person in school for a day. No doubt spontaneous because the driver, who had no idea that Santa had dismounted the truck, didn't stop to let him back on!

It was a funny spectacle, Santa chasing that fire truck for half a block before leaping back onto the running board. Two hundred and ninety nine kids might have remembered that funny image the next year when they stood waiting for the big guy's annual visit. But I remember it forty one years later as if it happened yesterday.

Steve Radford was born in Virginia and currently resides in North Texas.  He writes mostly about personal experiences that have shaped his view of the world.

This Article has been viewed 245 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.