12 DECEMBER 2020 The Lowe Road Former Valley newspaperman Sam Lowe now writes about his travels across Arizona, the U.S. and the globe. BY SAM LOWE By Sam Lowe O ver the years, I have collected many enjoyable Christmas memories. One of my favorites is the day when I – dressed as a holiday elf – met Nicole, an 8-year-old homeless girl. It was a staged event organized by one of my coworkers at The Phoenix Gazette . There were several of us appointed to wear the outfit and assigned to a particular child. I was to be Nicole’s elf. When we were introduced, she took my hand and grasped it, not paying any attention to the fact that the hand belonged to a man dressed as an elf. When I arrived, she approached me and inquired, “Are you one of Santa’s older elves?” She had noticed earlier, but she was kind about it when she didn’t accentuate “older.” Back at the office, several of my associates had not been so considerate. When word spread that some of us were going to dress up and help Santa at a Christmas party for the kids at a school for the homeless, they posted a sentry near my office, which doubled as a dressing room. We couldn’t slip out the back way, instead having to parade through the newsroom in a full elf costume, which consisted of green knickers, red suspenders, funny hats, green pointy-toed shoes and red-and- white striped socks. Left with no other choice, we marched through the newsroom, took the taunts and snickers in stride and headed for the school. The children had been taken to a nearby park so they wouldn’t see our arrival, giving us time to prepare the area that served as a classroom. Santa (one of the sportswriters) perched himself in the center of the room so he’d be easily accessible to all 10 of the youngsters. We elves hung back, accepting our roles as second fiddles to the big red guy. When the door opened, and the kids came in, we yelled out, “Merry Christmas” in our best elf voices. The children didn’t say anything. They just stood there, wide-eyed and getting wider-eyed as they stared at Santa. But in a moment, those 20 eyes and small arms rushed forward and reached out to the sportswriter in the red suit and fake beard and smiling faces lit up the room. The children sat on his lap, pulled his beard and told him their wishes, momentarily unconcerned about their meager situation. And then, the most wondrous thing happened. The pretend elves, although jaded by the real life they dealt with every day as reporters and editors, joined the party’s organizers to sing Christmas carols. And, quite frankly, we weren’t bad, considering we were unskilled labor. After an agonizingly long wait for the honored guests, it was time to distribute the presents. Each of us was assigned a child as guardian elves, so Nicole and I became a team. She was tall and rather spindly, and when she got excited, the words tumbled from her mouth at the speed of Warp Factor 9. Anxious but restrained, she squeezed my hand and waited with monumental patience as Santa called out the names. “Tom,” he intoned in his well-rehearsed Santa voice, and Nicole’s hand closed even tighter on mine because she knew she would be called next. But she wasn’t next. Amy was next. Then Terrence. Then Darien. But Nicole’s tiny hand never relaxed. Finally, Santa got it right. “Nicole,” he said in a gruff voice, or as fierce as a large sportswriter pretending to be Santa could make his voice sound. Nicole did not merely leave my side. She exploded. She flew in a hundred different directions at once and was at Santa’s lap before the final syllable of her name had passed his lips. She took the package, hugged Santa, raced back to me and tore the wrappings off all in one motion. “Clothes!” she cried. “I got clothes!” It was a denim skirt and a pink blouse, decorated with globs of squirted paint. Nicole raised them from the wrapping and held them against herself. She shut her eyes and rocked slowly back and forth. In our combined 60-or-so-odd- years on this earth, neither of us had ever felt better about anything other than this moment. She opened her eyes and asked if I would wait for her in that exact spot, then raced from the room. When she returned, she was wearing her new skirt and her new blouse, and she had left the price tags on to show that they were new, not the hand-me-downs she usually received. Things settled down once all the children had received and opened their gifts, and the Kool-Aid and sugar cookies were properly dispensed. We elves hung around for a little while to help with the clean- up, then had to leave and go back to the real world. We were still in our elf suits when we got back to the office. But now, we strode through the newsroom with unconcealed pride. What it meant to become a Christmas elf Sam Lowe, older elf When I arrived, Nicole approached me and inquired, are you one of Santa’s older elves? Every $1 you give to the Mission helps reduce your state taxes—by up to $800!* Make a year-end gift today! *$400 tax reduction if filing single or as a head of household, or $800 if filing jointly. Pocket up to $800 in tax savings. Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! www.phoenixrescuemission.org/ArcadiaTax Give now to save big on your Arizona state taxes! YES, I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: $800 $400 $100 $50 $25 $______ to help as much as possible. YES, Thank you! Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit card Card type _________ Card number ___________________________________ Exp. ________ My phone number ( ______ ) ___________________________ Email address ___________________________________________________ m Please send me email updates on the lives being changed at Phoenix Rescue Mission. Every $1 you give to the Mission helps reduce your state taxes—by up to $800!* Make a year-end gift today! Pocket up to $800 in tax savings. *$400 tax reduction if filing single or as head of household, or $800 if filing jointly. Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! Mail: Return this slip with a check or credit card donation Phoenix Rescue Mission P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005 Phone: (602) 346-3336 Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ Give now to save big on your Arizona state taxes! m $800 m $400 m $100 m $50 m $25 m $ ________ to help as much as possible. You will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Phoenix Rescue Mission’s Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO) Code is 20549. Name Address City/State/Zip U865669643 KD9C4NU UUU A G1 KT X 2 I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! 19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTan Sun News 10 x 6. 6 YES, Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit c Card type _________ Card number _________________________________ Exp. ________ My phone number ( ______ ) _________________________ Email address __________________________________________________ m Please send me email updates on the lives being changed at Phoenix Rescue Mission. Every $1 you give to the Mission helps reduce your state taxes—by up to $800!* Make a year-end gift today! Pocket up to $800 in tax savings. *$400 tax reduction if filing single or as head of household, or $800 if filing jointly. Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! Mail: Return this slip with a check or credit card donation Phoenix Rescue Mission P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005 Phone: (602) 346-3336 Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ Give now to save big on your Arizo m $800 m $400 m $100 m $50 m $25 m $ ________ to help as much as possible. Name Address City/State/Zip U865669643 KD9C4NU UUU A G1 KT X I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Ch Enclosed is my gift: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ Every saves $1 19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTan Sun News 10 x 6. 6 Mail: Return this slip with a check or credit card donation Phoenix Rescue Mission P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005 Phone: (602) 346-3336 Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/ ArcadiaTax YES, Thank you! Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit card Card type _________ Card number ___________________________________ Exp. ________ My phone number ( ______ ) ___________________________ Email address ___________________________________________________ m Please send me email updates on the lives being changed at Phoenix Rescue Mission. Every $1 you give to the Mission helps reduce your state taxes—by up to $800!* Make a year-end gift today! Pocket up to $800 in tax savings. *$400 tax reduction if filing single or as head of household, or $800 if filing jointly. Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! Mail: Return this slip with a check or credit card donation Phoenix Rescue Mission P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005 Phone: (602) 346-3336 Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ Give now to save big on your Arizona state taxes! m $800 m $400 m $100 m $50 m $25 m $ ________ to help as much as possible. You will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Phoenix Rescue Mission’s Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO) Code is 20549. Name Address City/State/Zip I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! 19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTan Sun News 10 x 6. 6 YES, Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit card Card type _________ Card number ___________________________________ Exp. ________ My phone number ( ______ ) ___________________________ Pocket up to $800 in tax savings. Give now to save big on your Arizona state taxes! m $800 m $400 m $100 m $50 m $25 m $ ________ to help as much as possible. I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! 19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTan Sun News 10 x 6. 6 U865669643 KE0C3NU UUU A G1 KT X 0

Fresh holiday wreaths - $25 Saturday, December 12 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. (or until SOLD OUT) (while supplies last) Help support Arcadia’s Boy Scout Troop 6 This is our sole fundraiser of the year and helps fund our camping, hiking, backpacking trips and community service projects, while we encourage and train young men to: Be Prepared. For Life. DRIVE-THRU 3641 N. 56th Street – Prince of Peace Church (pull-through lane off 56th Street) (Look for Troop 6 Scouts with signs) Indian School Road 56th St. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church TROOP 6 DRIVE-THRU WREATH SALE