Caring connections reveal beauty of the season

Every Christmas Eve, as he was drifting off to sleep, he'd pray that Santa would bring him a little train set. Most of the time, Santa never stopped by at all.

I've written about a lot of people over the years, and I've visited this story a couple of times. It still bothers me.

By the time I first heard the story and met the "boy," Richard was 70-something in chronological years. It was the year after Santa finally came through with the train after a decades-long wait.

I was covering a Christmas party for people with mental disabilities, and one of the organizers told me Richard's story. Santa's visit took a very long time because Richard was not someone that most people would have pictured on the old elf's naughty and nice list.

He had grown and then he had grown old, always waiting. But a brain injury from a severe illness when he was young left Richard forever about 7 years old.

Christmas is definitely a time for children. But not all children are young. Those who aren't are often overlooked.

Recently, the Utah Association for Intellectual Disabilities issued a cry for help. Its gift box program, which provides Christmas presents to more than 70 mentally disabled Utahns, mostly adults, is in dire straits right now. And the adult children, most of them about 7 intellectually, will do without.

The program's Katherine Scott says they need underwear in men's and women's medium and large, socks of all sizes, coats — especially for women and size 10 boys — towels, bed linens in twin or queen, simple crafts, board games and almost any toys. The favorites are cars, fire trucks and police cars and ambulances. They're always looking for T-shirts, especially in large and extra large.

If you have money, but no time, they will shop. They get a 30 percent discount at some stores, and donations are tax-exempt. If you have time, but no money, they'd love volunteers to help wrap gifts. But they need to get it all together this week, and they'll wrap this weekend. Call 801-654-8449.

I am an avid fan of the Sub for Santa program, sponsored in part by this newspaper. Wednesday morning, when I called Information and Referral at 211, the gal said that Sub for Santa and Toys for Tots, all coordinated by the Salvation Army to prevent duplication and screen people into the right program, had all been adopted. Good news. But for each of the 28 years I've worked here, there have always been cases where just days or even hours before Christmas, donors decide they can't do it and families are turned back. Angel Tree apparently still needs help.