Union Square Macy’s = The Grinch

The Union Square Macy’s has fired Santa. According to The Chronicle, “John Toomey, known for 20 years at the Union Square Macy’s in San Francisco as “Santa John,” was told Saturday he’ll have to take his “ho, ho, hos” elsewhere because an adult couple complained about a joke he cracked.” Well, we know just who ruined Christmas this year for the hundreds of eager kiddies and, even annually returning adults who have been flocking to see Santa John every holiday.

68-year old Toomey, who lives in Oroville during the off-season and is a retired caretaker of the elderly, told The Chronicle that he was fired after an adult couple complained about a joke he had cracked. A joke he had been telling, to adults only, for the last two decades without any negative reaction.

“When I ask the older people who sit on my lap if they’ve been good and they say, ‘Yes,’ I say, ‘Gee, that’s too bad,’ ” Toomey said Monday.

“Then, if they ask why Santa is so jolly, I joke that it’s because I know where all the naughty boys and girls live.”

The kids who sit on his lap, he said, get only his trademark laugh and questions about what toys they want.”

Really, people? Really? Macy’s would not comment, but the cheerful holiday atmosphere inside the store has considerably dampened. Toomey has asked to have his job back.

To read more, go to here.

Besides being an editor at SF Station, Anhoni Patel writes fiction. She is the author of "All Good Things Die in L.A." and is currently at work on her second novel. Her many passions include movies, cupcakes and books. You can find her work and novel info here: http://www.anhonipatel.com.