By Scott Johnston<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t believe it; the Easter Bunny\u2019s annual visit to Aurora had stressed him out again.<\/p>\n
That was the obvious conclusion, looking down on him, where he sat slumped on a bench in the arboretum, with his furry face in his hands, and what seemed to be the weight of the world on his shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d I asked, sitting down beside him.<\/p>\n
He sighed heavily.<\/p>\n
I thought back to previous years when I\u2019d run into him in some last-minute panic, and some of the problems he\u2019d encountered here in town. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have all your eggs and prizes prepared?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you know that the event\u2019s being held at the Seniors\u2019 Centre?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another nod.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn March 30th, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, I\u2019m all set,\u201d he mumbled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve gone to so much trouble preparing, and this year I know I\u2019ve thought of everything. But it may all be for nought.\u201d <\/p>\n
He looked up at me with red-rimmed eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe town may not even let me host my own event!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d I asked, astonished.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re opening it up to other bidders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seeing my puzzled expression, he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter all the fuss about the use of Town Park for the Jazz Fest, someone suggested that I have a monopoly on Easter week-end. They think it\u2019s only fair for other characters to have the chance to apply. The town may get a better offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u2019ve been doing this for years, and the kids and their parents always have a great time. Who could possibly put in a better offer than you?\u201d I asked, incredulous.<\/p>\n
He sighed again. It was sad to see his shoulders slumped so much.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Santa Claus, for one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSanta! He only comes around at Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. But he\u2019s not busy this time of year, he\u2019s got deep pockets, and at least a bazillion elves to help him prepare. Sure, the Girl Guides are a huge assistance to me, but let\u2019s face it; if St. Nick puts in a bid, I\u2019m sunk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t imagine he\u2019d do that. You guys are all friends, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are, but it\u2019s getting harder to compete for children\u2019s attention. They\u2019re just too jaded by our modern world, and don\u2019t have time for us old-fashioned types, anymore. My colleagues are looking at anything they can do to help keep in the spotlight. Why, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if the Tooth Fairy put in a bid.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tried to think of some angle to cheer him up. \u201cThis is the first year the town\u2019s done this. Perhaps your friends haven\u2019t heard about the new open bidding process.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe\u201d, he agreed, his eyes brimming with tears. \u201cBut what would I do if I lost out? Easter\u2019s all I\u2019ve got!\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited in silence for a minute, while he composed himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, have you put in your application?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I was just on my way over to drop it off,\u201d he sniffed, brandishing a stack of official looking documents. \u201cI was up all night working on them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He glanced at a tiny watch he\u2019d taken out of a pocket. \u201cIn fact, the deadline\u2019s soon. I\u2019d better get going, so I don\u2019t miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWish me luck,\u201d he said, slipping off the bench and hopping slowly off towards Town Hall.<\/p>\n
I hoped he was successful in maintaining his tradition. He\u2019d been through a lot, and even if a better offer was received, a spring egg hunt in Aurora hosted by someone like the \u201cEaster Tooth Fairy\u201d just didn\u2019t seem the same.<\/p>\n
Feel free to e-mail Scott at: machellscorners@gmail.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Scott Johnston I couldn\u2019t believe it; the Easter Bunny\u2019s annual visit to Aurora had stressed him out again. That was the obvious conclusion, looking down on him, where he sat slumped on a bench in the arboretum, with his furry face in his hands, and what seemed to be the weight of the world […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/886\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}