the little girl climbed up onto the big man's lap.

he was older and had a long graying beard, and kind eyes... she thought it was santa.

she sat there on his lap for a few moments, just looking at him, and then slowly, in her tiny little voice told him, "santa, all i want for christmas is a pony."

the man chuckled, and looked knowingly at the tiny girls very embarrassed father. it was apparent that this had happened to him more than once. and replied to the little girl, "well maybe if you are a good girl, and you work hard, and eat your vegetables, and do well in school, then we can talk about a pony, how does that sound?"

and the little girl smiled, jumped off of his lap, grabbed her fathers hand and tugged him away, chattering excitedly about the possibility of getting a pony for christmas.

and i felt like hitting the man right then and there. i am not usually a violent person, but all i could think of was how much i wanted to hurt this santa impersonator at that very moment.

i worked hard, i was good, i do well in school, and hell i eat all my vegetables (with the exception of hot peppers) and what has that gotten me?

1. a bitter attitude
2. a strong dislike for a former passion
3. a powerful feeling of being robbed
4. a hard, hard heart
5. and pain, lots of pain.

oh and we cant forget 6. a strong dislike for the santa claus impersonator.

but.... no where on that list do you see pony.

funny, that's all i ever asked for from santa too...

kid, trust me, save your dreams for something else. santa doesnt bring ponies, or fairy tales... and beware, you are crossing into a dangerous world.