“And what do YOU want for Christmas, little boy?”

I’m less than a week away from my 2024 CPKC Holiday Train chase. I’ve narrowed down my camera gear to the essentials – one digital (my Nikon Df) and three film (my Nikon F2S “Nikon Athena,” my medium-format Rolleiflex Automat MX, and my Krasnogorsk FT-2 super-ultra-wide “Raskolnikov”). I’ve checked out locations for shooting spots and gas stations and charging centers.

But I need one more bit of luck.

And that happened last Saturday.

See, while I was chasing the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson train during its involvement in the “Operation Toy Train” event, I ran into this guy. He was probably on a weekend break from preparing toys at the North Pole. Because, of course he was.

And I talked to him. And he remembered all my previous Christmas requests from long ago. No, he still wouldn’t bring me Lynda Carter for Christmas, no matter how many times I asked. But he did say that if I was a good little boy, and remembered that the Holiday Train was a fundraiser for food insecurity – and that by photographing the train, I should donate a swell to a food pantry in exchange for getting great photos – then he said he would do what he could for me.

And as proof … he even posed with me for a selfie.

Because a selfie with Santa Claus equals a binding contract. Because, of course it does. 😀

That’s right. Santa can have his flying reindeer pulling his sleigh …

Me? I’m working off a hybrid gas-electric Chevrolet, four cameras, and a ton of anticipation.

Let’s do this.