“First lady fields kids' calls as NORAD tracks Santa - Washington Times” plus 1 more |
| First lady fields kids' calls as NORAD tracks Santa - Washington Times Posted: 25 Dec 2010 08:08 AM PST PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP) — Some children who call NORAD on Christmas Eve to find out where Santa is hang up as soon as a volunteer answers the phone — probably because they expected a recording and not a real person, veteran Santa trackers say. There were some especially awed kids Friday, when one of the people answering the phone was first lady Michelle Obama. A telephone link from Hawaii, where the Obamas are on vacation, allowed her to pitch in with volunteers at Peterson Air Force Base, who were answering phone calls and e-mails for the North American Aerospace Defense Command's Santa-tracking program. "I was ecstatic because I was talking to the president's wife," said Evan Race, 10, of Springfield, Ill. He and his family were in North Carolina for the holidays when they decided to call NORAD. "I was really surprised," said his 8-year-old sister, Anna. Seven-year-old Colin Race also got to talk with Mrs. Obama. The White House said she took calls for 40 minutes and spoke with children from at least a dozen families. It's believed to be the first time in the 55-year history of the event that a first lady joined in, said Jamie Graybeal, NORAD'S deputy chief of staff for communications. NORAD Tracks Santa, the official name of the program, began in 1955 when a Colorado Springs newspaper ad invited children to talk to Santa on a hotline. The phone number had a typo, and dozens of kids wound up dialing the Continental Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado Springs, the predecessor to NORAD. The officers on duty played along and began passing along reports on Santa's progress. It's now a cherished ritual at NORAD, a joint U.S.-Canada command that monitors the North American skies and seas from a control center at Peterson. "It's really ingrained in the NORAD psyche and culture," said Canadian Forces Lt. Gen. Marcel Duval, the deputy commander of NORAD, who pitches in to field French-language calls on Christmas Eve. "It's a goodwill gesture from all of us, on our time off, to all the kids on the planet." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Foster mom says gifts are overrated - love is what kids want - msnbc.com Posted: 25 Dec 2010 06:10 PM PST LYNNWOOD, Wash. - She has a photo album for every child she's ever taken in. "We don't put family as just blood or legally ours," says Cindy Locke. "Family is more than that." This Christmas at the Lockes there's Emily, Sarah, Mykal, Jordan, Josiah, Kailey and Beth - the first foster child Cindy and her husband Lenny took in and also had to give up. "She'd been bounced I think to seven placements in 17 months, so she was pretty fearful," said Cindy. They raised her from age 1 to 5 years old, nursing her back to health after a series of medical problems, before giving her back to her father. "Through that I learned how to love with open hands and learn that a foster child is not yours," said Cindy. Eighteen years later, Beth still returns to the Lockes' for Christmas. She says this is her family and Cindy is her mom. "She's like a great mom and a great person, too and involved in everything," says Beth. Some might call that an understatement. For the last 22 years, Cindy and her husband have taken in more than 40 special needs children. She's nursed them back to health, and also given them something else. "Just love and family," says her 18-year-old foster son Mykal, who was taken in more than a year ago after having heart surgery. He'd already been through more than 15 foster homes before landing here. "They treat me like family. I am family," he said. Cindy says it's about being a family and loving one another, not only on Christmas but every day. "It's about being together it's not about stuff, stuff is stuff." Cindy says she's not done yet, her oldest will soon be moving out. She and her husband are making room for another child in need. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from kids shoes - Bing News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment