Under Morrison’s watchful eye, the line moved quickly. One by one, children perched on Vic’s knee and rattled off what they wanted for Christmas. Soon they all began to sound the same. Vic felt his eyes glazing over as he nodded again and again. Yes, they’d each get what they wanted. Yes to the Playstation and the XBox and the computer. Yes to a new bike, a skateboard, roller blades. After a kid named a few coveted items and paused to take a breath, Vic jumped in. “You’ll be pleasantly surprised on Christmas morning,” he promised.
Eyes went wide, mouths spread into wide smiles, and most of the kids gave Vic a hug. Then he handed over one of the gifts amid a supernova of flashes—Morrison had commissioned a photographer stationed at Vic’s side to take a picture of each child, but many paren
