Wow, this Santa myth is strong stuff: Since I’ve been thinking about my kid’s sudden curiousity about Santa, I’ve discovered that one of my sanest friends actually bought a giant boot when his kids were little so he could leave a big ol’ footprint in the ashes of the fireplace, one of my friends told me she cried when she discovered (at 12!) he wasn’t real, etc., etc. But this morning takes it: Talking about it to my pals at FM-100 …
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Why are all but three of the 15 elected officials and assorted politicos caught up in the FBI’s public corruption stings black? Are black people genetically predisposed to corruption? Or is it, as some have suggested, that people with less financial means, who are more likely to be black, are more suspectible to bribes?

I don’t want to think that the FBI is targeting black politicians and ignoring similar misbehavior by white politicians. However, this would not be the first time the feds went after black people unfairly (think the FBI’s persecution of MLK and Malcolm X). And the fact that one of the top fed honchos is a black woman means absolutely nothing. We can buy into the stereotypes and prejudices about black people as readily — and sometimes even more so — than white folks.

But logic alone would suggest that there has to be some Caucasian hanky-panky that the feds are either not searching for or are ignoring in pursuit of bigger fish. You tend to find what you’re looking for, and if you’re not tempting white people, well, they can’t take the bait.
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“Mom, are you really Santa Claus?”

That’s what Tomas asked me one night this week as I was tucking him into bed.

“Well, uh, why do you ask that?” I replied. Uh-oh is what I thought. Here it comes … I’m going to have to decide now whether we keep this little story of the fat guy and the chimney going one more year, and what difference it will make if we do. Or don’t.

I was pretty mushy in my response — something about Santa and Mommy bringing him presents — but I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

How important is the idea of Santa Claus to kids, really? What about the actual, um, lie that someone comes and brings presents, or, worse, watches to see if you’ve been bad? And what does this story teach kids — and the rest of us — about giving, anyway? Tell me how you handled this inevitable question with your kids, how old they were, and what happened afterward. Another bedtime conversation is coming right up …

Don’t you love TV couples? They just keep yearning and yearning — even sometimes after they sleep together — which, of course, keeps us watching and watching. Leave it to the Chicago Sun-Times hilarious TV writer, Doug Elfman, to lead us right where we’re dying to go in a wonderful article about unrequited love. As he writes, “So you’re single and lonely. Or you’re not 100 percent emotionally fulfilled by your relationship. I think those two categories cover every American.” Be sure not to miss the Hall of Fame flirts, including our own Cybill Shepherd, in her (long ago) role as Maddie in “Moonlighting.”

So who’s your favorite unrequited TV couple? Me, I love the sexual tension on “Grey’s Anatomy.” McDreamy, anyone?

A toast to the parties this week, two of which were focused on food. The venerable Chaine des Rotisseurs has a local chapter in Memphis, and this week celebrated with a five-course dinner at the Racquet Club (that’s Tom Cassidy raising his glass, left, with wife Mary Lynn and Joe Amendola, a special visitor from the Culinary Institute of America). Amendola, 86, taught baking and pastry at CIA for more than 50 years, and shared his secret to longevity with Michael Donahue in today’s column: “Moderation.” Click here for the slide show, right, which also includes pictures from Ballet Memphis’s latest Connection: Food performance.

Were you there?