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Before becoming Santa, Butchart was an ex-Marine who was never comfortable around children. He had "learned 43 different ways to kill and survive on the battlefield," Butchart writes in his homespun book Red Suit Diaries. He had been decorated by American and foreign generals, and was part of the honor guard for President Kennedy's funeral. But it wasn't until he changed the light bulb for a church friend who had cerebral palsy that he caught a glimpse of what God wanted him to do. His heart quickened to serving as the hands and feet for people who couldn't help themselves.In 1986 Butchart left his lucrative job as a salesman and launched Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC). Shortly after that he received a degree in theology from Atlanta Christian College and was ordained in the Christian Church in 1989. But what compelled him to don the red suit?In 1987, as his ministry was getting off the ground, his kindly features and exceptional girth prompted someone to ask if he would be the Santa for a church Christmas program. This began the metamorphosis.Butchart decided to grow his own beard for the next year's event. A holiday stint at a local mall followed, and soon he was in high demand throughout the Atlanta area.Becoming Santa was more complicated than one might think. There were "crowd reports" to interpret and hair appointments that involved washing, rinsing, and bleaching his new beard. Cynics and spoiled brats abounded among the lap-sitters. "If you're really Santa, you will know my name," some would say. Others relayed several items on their Christmas list and told him to repeat the items in the exact order. Butchart recalls one boy who unleashed a scream "straight out of Rambo, turned, and with both hands grabbed my beard and gave a snatch downward."The defining moment, when Butchart understood what it meant to be Santa Claus, came one day early in his career. He saw someone in line "bouncing from one foot to the other, wringing her hands as fast as she could, so excited that she could hardly contain herself." She was 35 years old. As the woman took her place on Santa's lap, her mother said, "You don't have to mess with her. She's retarded, ain't never been right!"Butchart smiled. "She is also a child of God," he said, "and he loves her as much as he does any of his children, and so does Santa." The 35-year-old sat precariously on his lap and told him that she would love a Barbie doll.On another occasion at a local mall he saw two people watching him from the second level. It was a mother and her daughter, a young girl in a wheelchair. He waved for the girl to come sit on his lap. They hesitated, but he persisted. They finally came."It was clear that she was quite impaired with multiple disabilities," says Butchart. "Her wheelchair had several position devices to help her maintain good posture. She had a nasogastric tube in her nose.""This is Lindsey Ann Brown, Santa," her mother said. "She is 4 years old and she loves Santa Claus." Butchart asked if he could put Lindsey in his lap. "You don't have to," the mother said. "Yes, I do," he said. "Santa loves Lindsey too."He loosened the butterfly brace on Lindsey's chest, lifted her onto his lap, and cradled her head with one hand. He told the photographer to take a full package of free pictures.When he returned Lindsey to her wheelchair, he noticed the positioning pads needed readjustment. The mother said they couldn't afford to have it done, so he wrote down a name and number and told her to "call this guy tomorrow and he will adjust it for free."Lindsey's mom discovered that "guy" was Santa himself, as Butchart in his capacity as president of FODAC. During that visit, Lindsey's mother explained that they hesitated the day before because a year earlier they had waited in line for almost an hour to see Santa, only to be told, "No way, I'm not about to touch that kid."When Butchart heard that story, he vowed he would never besmirch the name or the image of Santa the way that cruel impostor had done. He has taken special care to embrace handicapped children and married his role as a supplier of medical equipment to his year-round vocation as Santa."You're either going to play the role all the time or destroy the image of what you think Santa ought to be," he told me. "And when you look like me, you cannot escape that role."

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December 4 2000, Vol. 44, No. 14