Florida on the night before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas and all over town
No noses were frozen, no snow fluttered down.
No children in flannels were tucked into bed,
They all wore their T-shirts instead.
To find wreaths of holly was not very hard
For holly trees grew right out in the yard.
In front of the houses were Dads and Moms,
Admiring their shrubbery and coconut palms.
The slumbering kiddies were dreaming in glee,
in hope they'd find water skis under the tree.
They all knew that Santa was well on his way,
In a top down convertible instead of a sleigh.
And soon he arrived and started his work,
He hadn't a second to linger or shirk.
He zipped up the highways and zoomed down the roads,
In his shiny new sports car delivering his loads.
The tropical moon gave the city a glow,
And lighted the highways for Santa below.
As he jumped from his auto he gave a weak chuckle,
Santa was dressed in Bermudas with an Ivy League buckle!
There weren't any chimneys, but that caused no gloom,
For Santa came in through the Florida room.
He stopped at each house for less than a minute,
And emptied his sacks of the toys that were in it.
And before he departed, he treated himself
To a glass of orange juice left on the shelf.
Then he turned with a jerk and bounced back to the car,
remembering he still had to go very far.
He shifted the gears and stepped on the gas,
and away up I-95 he went like a flash;
but we heard him exclaim as he went on his way
Merry Christmas Too All And to All A Happy Holiday!
Originally published December 18, 2003.