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In Santa's Mailbag, a Peek into Children's Pandemic Worries

Associated Press

   LIBOURNE, FRANCE - Jim, from Taiwan, slipped a face mask inside the
   greeting card he sent to Santa and marked "I (heart) u." Alina, 5,
   asked in her Santa letter written with an adult's help that he please
   use the front door when he drops in, because the back door is reserved
   for Grandma and Grandpa to minimize their risk of contamination.

   And spilling out her heavy little heart to "Dear Father Christmas,"
   10-year-old Lola wrote that she is wishing "that my aunt never has
   cancer again and that this virus no longer exists."

   "My mother is a care-giver and sometimes I am scared for her," Lola
   explained, signing off her handwritten letter with, "Take care of
   yourself Father Christmas, and of the Elves."

   The emotional toll wrought by the pandemic is jumping off pages in the
   deluge of "Dear Santa" letters now pouring into a post office in
   southwest France that sorts and responds to his mail from around the
   world.

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