This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Is it different? Shh. You won't believe what my new friend just told me about dinosaurs.
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AI produced. Black Friday at Abercrombie Kids is here with 40% off everything. And iHeart listeners are getting an extra 15% off with code iHeartAF. This is your time to shine and finish holiday shopping on sale. Shop in the app online and in stores.
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and Canada. Excludes clearance and gift cards. See details online. Hear that? That's what it sounds like when you plant more trees than you harvest.
Work done by thousands of working forest professionals, like Adam, a district forest manager who works to protect our forests from fires. Keeping the forest fire-resistant synonymous with keeping a forest healthy, and we do that through planting more than we harvest and mitigate those risks through active management. It's a long-term commitment. Visit WorkingForestsInitiative.com to learn more. Yeah.
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Shop NordicTrack.com for Cyber Monday savings. Nordic Track. Train anywhere, explore everywhere. And we continue with our American stories. And it's Christmas season, and we're delivering you Christmas stories.
Next we have Roger Latham from Fort Worth, Texas. Telling us a Christmas story, he's titled The Real Santa. Let's take a listen. It was a Monday evening when, while driving home from the office on a cold December day, I turned on the local radio station. eager to listen to some Christmas music.
I heard Bing sing White Christmas, Nat off her old holy night, And Elvish paint the color of blue on Bing's fluffy snow. It was great. Then came a break in the melodic melodies of the season, and an announcer came on the air. Hope you all are ready for a wonderful Christmas and that our music is helping create the magic of the season. One family in our city is, however, in need of some help.
He called in today and told us his eight-year-old son asked Santa for a bicycle. and that he had no money to buy one. Can anyone help? If there is a Santa in our audience, please call. He gave the number.
His words were a bowl pulled across my Christmas Strativarius. And are called. Hello? I'll provide the bike. Where does it go?
The man on the radio Thanked me and gave me the address. I scribbled it. on a scrap of paper in my front seat. On the following Friday, as my eight-year-old son and I were watching some television, my precocious 10-year-old daughter entered the room and offered a grand pronouncement. I figured it out.
Okay. Her statement came with the strong-willed conviction of adolescence. Oh really? What if you figure it out now, darling? There is no Santa.
It's you and mom. I glanced at my son to gauge his reaction. The look on his face betrayed a mix of shock, concern, and a touch of panic. His older sister had just violated the ancient rules of Santa Claus. I had to think fast.
Being a salesman by trade, and well versed in dispelling the objections of the disbelieving, I mustered a quick retort Sweetie. You're wrong. Santa is real, and I'll introduce you to him tomorrow. She scoffed with a snort and left the room. On Saturday I loaded the family in my Honda and we headed to Northeast Mall.
As we entered Sears, Candy said, I've already been to see this Santa, remember? I sat on his lap, told him what I wanted. That's not the real Santa, I said.
Okay, now you kids, go pick out the best boy bike you can find, one that an eight-year-old boy, about your brother's size, would like. In ten minutes, they returned with a shiny red bike sporting a banana seed and raised handlebars. How's this, dad? my son asks. Do you like it?
That's all that matters.
Now go pick out another nice gift you'd like to receive from Santa. They scurried off and picked another present and returned with a large remote control truck. I paid for the merchandise and we headed to the car. It was time to make our way to the classroom and a tutorial on the Real Santa. The apartment complex was easy to find.
It sat in the seediest part of Arlington, Texas. The cars parked on the street were dilapidated wrecks, all in desperate need of major dent repair and gallons of paint. Upon finding the right address, I parked and unloaded the vehicle of kids, bike, and truck.
Okay, daughter, you roll the back and let your brother carry the truck. Perfect. Arriving at the apartment door, I knocked. Moments passed, then a man the size of a Dallas Cowboy lineman Must have been six foot five, two hundred and ninety pounds. swung open the door.
Boy. You lost or something? This ain't exactly You're part of town. His gruff tone softened as he noticed the bike. What's that?
A babe in a manger sent me over and told me to bring this back, I said. I motioned for my son and disbelieving daughter to deliver the bike and the toy. as they did the giant man, whose name I never learned. seemed to melt before my eyes. Tears flowed down his face and he hugged me.
Then the kids. Thank you, sir. This is a fine blessing. He then turned to the kids. Thank you too, my little ones.
And Merry Christmas. His voice broke. Without further discussion, Santa and his troop of elves bid a Merry Christmas adieu and headed back to the car. With everyone now installed and buckled in, it was time for me to finish the lesson.
So, dear daughter, Is Santa real? Her eyes or Tieri and she stammered, Yes, yes, yes, Daddy. It's you. No, sweetie. Santa Claus is a spirit.
dwelling in every man and woman of good faith. who do for others that which they cannot do for themselves. One day, I expect you and your brother to show the world you're Santa. My children, now in their forties, Still believe. and will one day teach my grandchildren.
about the day they met the real Santa. passing on their understanding of Christmas, The real Christmas. Merry Christmas to all. and may the Spirit of Santa bless us all this year. And a great job on the production by Greg Hengler.
and a special thanks to Roger Latham. from Fort Worth, Texas. sharing this story. And we can see it, we can conjure it in our heads. That is the power of spoken word in the end.
The pictures are better. Is it yours? And that moment where the sort of gruff guy He starts breaking down and crying. Then going back to the car and asking his daughter, his kids, is Santa Rio. and that daughter with tears in her eyes saying yes, yes, yes.
And the ending, it's so beautiful. I expect you and your brother. to show the world your Santa. And my goodness, the American people, we show our HASANA to the world every year. four hundred and fifty billion dollars a year we give.
That's more than the GDP of almost all the countries in the world, but for 30. And we give away even more impressively 9 billion hours of our time. The story of Roger Latham. The real Santa here on Our American Stories. Lee Habib here, and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get our podcasts.
Any story you missed or want to hear again can be found there daily. Again, Please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts. It helps us keep these great American stories coming. Shh! You won't believe what my new friend just told me about dinosaurs!
Is your child having conversations you never imagined? Are they learning without realizing it? It's not a tablet. It's not a toy. It's Miko Mini Plus, the AI-powered companion that turns curiosity into endless learning.
Hear the future of playtime. Meet the extraordinary Miko Mini Plus. only at Costco. With their moustache, a taco in one hand, and ordering a rod in the other. Means you're stacking cash back.
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Max $100 cash back per month. See terms at venmo.me slash stash terms. Black Friday at Abercrombie Kids is here with 40% off everything. And iHeart listeners are getting an extra 15% off with code iHeartAF. This is your time to shine and finish holiday shopping on sale.
Shop in the app online and in stores. 40% off everything valid in stores and online, November 24th, 2025 to December 1st, 2025 in U.S. and Canada. Excludes clearance and gift cards. Online price reflex discount.
Use code iHeartAF to get an additional 15% off everything in stores and online at checkout from November 24th, 2025 to December 1st, 2025 in U.S. and Canada. Excludes clearance and gift cards. See details online. Yeah.
The only thing between you and your best self is a start button. This Cyber Monday, explore the world with Nordic Track. From the peaks of Peru to the streets of Paris, every workout moves you somewhere new with iFit trainers leading the way. The equipment's amazing, smooth, quiet, and those screens make it all feel real. Ready to start your next workout adventure with the number one treadmill brand in the U.S.?
Shop NordicTrack.com for Cyber Monday savings. Nordic Track. Train anywhere, explore everywhere. What a matchup we got, y'all. This is that classic HBCU vibe.
Non-stop action, the bed is rocking and the crowd lick, chants echo, drum beating, everybody showing that school pride. Game like this? Yeah, it calls for an ice-cold Coca-Cola. Ah, crisp and refreshing. That's a game changer right there.
Mmm, yeah. That taste always hits the right note, just like a band at halftime. And just like that, we're back at it. Passionate fans, school colors everywhere, and an ice cold Coca-Cola, that's a winning combo. No matter the sport, no matter the yard, everybody knows.
Fan work is thirsty work, so grab a Coca-Cola and keep that HBCU pride going. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Mm-hmm.
