Mrs. Claus to the Rescue

Mrs. Claus sighed. "Darling, stop kicking at the floor tiles and find yourself something to do, won't you?" she said.

Santa was peevish. "But I'm bored," he complained. "After all the excitement of Christmas and the partying at new year, mid-January gets BORING."

Mrs. Claus had been married to Santa for 50 years now, and she was aware of his mid-January blues. Christmas was hectic, then a few days' rest and new year ... and then a few days' rest and boredom till Valentine's Day. (Santa helps Cupid deliver gifts on Valentine's Day. They hush this up because they don't want to steal Cupid's moment of glory.)

Hastily, Mrs. Claus went on the internet, to see if she could find something. After a bit of searching, she thought she had it.

"LAUNCHING ON JAN 23" the notice said
"THE MOST CHALLENGING WRITING CONTEST ON THE INTERNET - THE WRITER'S CRAMP ON WdC."
Note: Those interested in being judges or prompters, please send your applications to The Milkman .

Mrs. Claus thought for just a couple of minutes. Then, she smiled a small smile to herself. Quickly, she set up an account in the name of St. Nicholas. Then, when the new portfolio was gleaming on the screen, she went to find her husband.

He was in the living room, on the sofa, grumbling to the cat. They'd had that cat for nine years and she was used to mid-Jan in the Santa household, too. She simply didn't listen to Santa's whining. She had her back turned to him and was washing herself, oblivious to his mutterings.

"I have a surprise for you," Mrs. Claus said.

"There are no surprises after the packages are opened on 25 Dec and the wrapping paper is safely stowed away for re-use," he mumbled.

"Come on." Mrs. Claus heaved her husband up by his shoulders and propelled him to the desk top. She sat him down.

"What's WdC?" he asked, staring at the screen. "And do I have a grey suitcase on it?"

"And they're looking for some impartial judges and creative prompters," Mrs. Claus replied. "They launch soon so you have to get to it, fast."

Within seconds, Santa was totally absorbed. Mrs. Claus tiptoed out and went to tell the cat that the mid-Jan blues were cured quickly this year. Cat, curious, crawled in and curled up on Santa's lap as he worked.

The Milkman, Sophy, Shaara and the other judges soon welcomed Santa as a fellow judge. They started putting the rules together.

"We are a global site," Sophy wrote on the chat. "We have to find a time that'll suit folks world-wide."

"What do you think, Cat?" Santa whispered to the feline on his knee.

"Mew," she replied.

Santa heard 'Noon'.

"My cat says Noon," he put in the chat.

None of the judges wanted to argue with the Claus Cat, that Famous Fur Feline. So NOON it was. Noon, WdC time.

Now, Santa isn't bored any more. There are no mid-Jan blues or mid-any time blues. He has to give the gift of the PROMPT and the gift of the PRIZE when it's his turn to judge. He has to fill in for other judges when they can't be online.

His mailbox is now full of not only requests for presents, but thank-yous for Cramp prompts.

One year, he asked: "HO HO HO and what can we do to make Cramp better?"

Letters came pouring in, in response. Cramp was the perfect gift as it was. It didn't need to be made better. Leave it as it is, people said. Keep doing what you're doing.

The judges kept doing what they were doing. They've been at it for 20 years. Cramp is still the best gift to writers that there could be.