So what could this contract possibly be and whom might it be with? Jolly Old St. Nick. Santa Claus, of course. Scoffers for ages have questioned the existence of dear, old Santa. One argument they like to use is the logistical argument. 'How could one man in a sleigh, pulled by 8 tiny reindeer (9 if you count Rudolf) deliver all those toys to all the good little boys and girls in one night?' Well, my answer is planning. In the old days when there were only a couple of million good little boys and girls in the world, it was timing that counted. But as the number of boys and girls grew and most of them were good too, it became harder and harder for Santa to make all the stops before sunrise and so he had to resort to Sleeping Dust(tm) to get more time. Well, one day a really bright elf put a note in the suggestion box. His suggestion was this: Use forward supply areas to store the toys. That way Santa does'nt have to return all the way to the North Pole to reload. Brilliant!! This is where the contract cargo flights come in. And Captain Weasel and Weasel Airlines has led the way!  Captain Weasel, being the leader type, took out the first run. (That means that he did'nt have to pay somebody else to do it but since this is the holiday season I won't question his motives.) Here's one of our 720's getting ready to be loaded up with toys for the good little boys and girls. Here's Captain Weasel on final to one of the secret Santa storage facilities (SSSF). While the location is a secret, I will say that this 'AREA' who's name ends in '51' is in Nevada. Almost at touchdown. Captain Weasel has had a long trip. We put the plane into one of the hangars to off load the toys so that if any good little boys and girls had access to satellite imagery they would'nt see what they are getting. We had to haul a couple of Auroras out to make room. The Aurora project is just something to distract everybody anyway. Santa's toy storage is the real secret. Remember, you better not shout, you better not cry, you better not pout... 'cause Santa Claus is coming to town. ....and hey, let's be careful out there. Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas everyone!! |