2017

Having been ill a couple weeks before, the idea made us wonder what would happen if Santa and the elves all got sick.  How would they get well?  Would Christmas be late?  We rattled off a lot of things while driving, so none of the got written down.  Of course, these were forgotten.  So, it came together slowly, and went through quite a few changes before becoming something we really liked.  (There was supposed to be a companion piece with the main character home with some bug when Santa arrived, but it never got flushed out.)

Fevers were high, the bug it was swarming,
The Pole, it was melting, much like global warming.
Everyone was in bed - one minute hot, the next cold,
Unable to do anything, this quickly got old.

Production had slowed, toys were going to be late,
Was there a way to avoid such a fate?
Then it did happen, things came to a halt,
And it really wasn’t anyone’s fault.

Prescriptions were ordered, everything was washed,
But that dastardly bug just couldn’t be squashed.
The doctors said no, they would make no house calls,
And no one was left to make bats, gloves, and balls.

It was a far-reaching issue, a global concern,
And to make matters worse,
there was chronic heartburn.
The crisis was real, and must be averted,
Else this holiday tradition would end up diverted.

The world got together, and a plan was made,
They would find some doctors that would not be afraid.
A group was found who said the call they would answer,
And would get there lickity-split like Donner and Prancer.

It was the World Health Organization, yes, in they flew,
That group of physicians known as the Doctors WHO.
They arrived in groups from the first to the last,
Hoping they could find a solution and make it work fast.

With herbals and tonics, and teas and the rest,
They had potions and creams, all with healing effects.
They put up a tent and then made it quite clean,
And outside hung a sign that said “Quarantined”.

Beds were set up and folks were moved in
To find out their problems, but where to begin.
A lab over there, equipment over here,
They set the stage like William Shakespeare.

Samples were taken, and the testing began,
As they worked through every elf, and reindeer, and man.
They worked through the days, the motion a flurry,
After all there was a deadline, so they had to hurry.

When suddenly a yell, “Eureka, I found it!”,
The parts of the puzzle seemed to perfectly fit.
Oh, it was the flu all right, but not the usual kind,
The Ameri-Euro version with some Avian entwined.

Once though identified, a cure they would get,
And make it real quick without breaking a sweat.
A combo of cocoa and herbs and such things,
Would have them all up and feeling like kings.

And administer they did to the entire elf corps,
From one to the next, from floor to floor.
Disaster avoided, the world had been saved,
Thanks to what these people had braved.

There were cookies to bake, and coffee to perk,
Production resumed just like tick-tock work.
The doctors then left, one after the other,
That regeneration, oh what a bother.

T’was the night before Christmas
and through the North Pole,
Santa’s sleigh was packed like a bottomless bowl.
They heard Santa exclaim as the deer pulled his sleigh,
“Let’s get this done, up, up and away.”

“We’ll deliver these presents, of that rest assured,
After all, we’ve made special arrangements
to have them insured.
The kids will be happy,
and hopefully won’t bawl,
Even if they have
a faint scent of Lysol.”

Copyright Ó 2017 by

Brian and Shirley Dean