The protests were in full swing and the city felt a mixture of fear, unsettled and resignation. A young black man walked by our set and someone asked him if he wanted to talk to Santa. He said sure and slowly walked over, kind of dropped to the couch.
"What's going on" I asked. He said he was concerned about school and who he would become.
I said, "a fine young man like your self," and I stopped and said "look here in my eyes and hear me because this is the truth- people are looking for you, to invest in you for your future as well as theirs. You keep doing what you are doing and you're going to fulfill some dreams, more than just yours. Some dreams of other generations in your family"
"You can believe this or not, but Santa never lies..."
He popped up off of that couch and was gliding down the mall way and I knew he'd caught them vision, that he was going to see all of that come to pass when he stopped and through his fist in the air like he had been given something more than a participation trophy, he'd received a gift.