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His fans aren't happy, either. And there are many.
John Toomey, known for 20 years at the Union Square Macy's in San Francisco
as "Santa John," was told Saturday he'll have to take his "ho, ho, hos"
elsewhere because an adult couple complained about a joke he cracked.
The joke has been in his Santa bag for decades. But after thousands of
tellings, the 68-year-old retired caretaker for the elderly finally hit the
wrong recipients - apparently an older woman and her husband, who considered
it inappropriate.
Toomey - who stays in Oroville most summers and winters in San Francisco
while he does the kiddie-on-the-knee gig - said he'd never had complaints
before about the joke, which he saves for the occasional grown-up who visits
him.
"When I ask the older people who sit on my lap if they've been good and they
say, 'Yes,' I say, 'Gee, that's too bad,' " Toomey said Monday.
"Then, if they ask why Santa is so jolly, I joke that it's because I know
where all the naughty boys and girls live."
The kids who sit on his lap, he said, get only his trademark laugh and
questions about what toys they want.
Macy's spokeswoman Betsy Nelson said the store cannot comment because the
matter involves personnel.
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