Great Way To Begin The Month

COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND CHRISTMAS!

I don't know about y'all, but my December 1st turned out to be pretty darn good.  With so many really good college football games to watch I barely had time to squeeze anything else into the day!  Kansas State will play Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl - that should be a fun game to watch. Go Ducks!  Wisconsin pummeled Nebraska for the right to play Stanford in the Rose Bowl.  Sorry you Bruin fans. Go Trees! And, Alabama will meet Notre Dame for the national championship in a game that might end up 3-2 the way both teams play defense. Go Leprechauns!

THE "CHIEF" ENGINEER

 (Chief Tom Gazsi with former ABLE Pilot Officer Ryan Walker and his daughter)

This morning, however, my sweet and very patient wife drove over to Fairview Park, to the site of the model trains, to join Chief Tom Gazsi and members of the Costa Mesa Police Department as they began their "family" Christmas celebration.  It turns out that Chief Gazsi is a founding member of the group that has operated the model trains since 1989.

CHRISTMAS AT THE EOC

We then drove over to the Emergency Operations Center at the Police Headquarters where the party was continuing, with staff manning the grill, cooking up hot dogs and hamburgers for the assembled throng.  Several dozen parents and children anxiously awaited the arrival of Santa Claus...

SANTA'S "SLEIGH"

Then they heard it.  It sounded a little bit like hoof beats, but it turned out to be the flapping of the rotors on his "sleigh" - a magnificent helicopter.  Yes, Santa was delivered to the party by helicopter, flown by officer (and former ABLE pilot) Rob Dimel.

THERE'S SANTA!

Santa made a slow pass over City Hall, then returned to land on the now defunct - but still very operational - helipad.  He clamored out of the helicopter, waived to the assembled group, then walked down and greeted many of the children.  He also paused to have his photo taken with members of the Costa Mesa High School Cheer Squad, who were in attendance to help welcome Santa.

PRESENTS FOR ALL THE CHILDREN

He then made his way into the EOC to hand out individual toys to the boys and girls.  It was a very lovely, uplifting event and a great way to start the month.

SNOOPY HOUSE VOLUNTEERS HARD AT WORK

Speaking of uplifting events, on the way into the EOC I saw many of Snoopy's helpers working on  the components of the Snoopy House display on the lawn in front of City Hall.  I saw uber-volunteer Terry Shaw with a group of men wrestling a large building into submission.  I also saw Manager of Public Affairs Dan Joyce with recently-elected councilman Steve Mensinger working hard to help get the components into place.  According to the published schedule, the Snoopy House will be open to the public from December 14th through December 25th from 5 to 9 p.m. each day.

IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT MONTH!
I'm sorry to have missed the Costa Mesa Firefighter's Burger Cook-off at Bloomingdale's this afternoon.  So many events (and games), so little time.  As I said, it was a good way to start the month and get into the holiday spirit.  And remember, Santa's making a list and checking it twice because he knows who's been naughty and who's been nice...  Uh-Oh!