Santa's holiday blues Published Dec. 10, 2008 By Scott Eck 20th Fighter Wing Ground Safety SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- The winter months resonate with the sights and sounds of the holiday season: crackling fires; Christmas trees with beautiful lights; and decorated houses. This is a time to truly enjoy family and friends. While Santa enjoys the holiday season, he sometimes sees it as a chore. You know the routine: put up the decorations; take down the decorations; going from one store to another. Yes, he really gets bogged down this time of year, but because Mrs. Claus tells him so, he goes along with the holiday routine. The first order of business is to get the decorations from the attic. As Santa pulls the cord to drop the attic steps, his mind is on other things. He doesn't notice he has pulled the cord with such force that the folding steps just miss his head. Before climbing into the attic, Santa flips on the light switch, but the bulb is burned out. Since he put the decorations away last year and knows where everything is, Santa feels his way around the attic. Once inside, he hits his head on one of the rafters and trips over a large box. Beginning to fall, Santa sprains his wrist as he hits the floor. After bringing the decorations down, it's time to pull them out of the box and put them up. As he untangles the endless strings of lights, he notices several areas where the wiring is frayed. With no electrical tape on hand, Santa decides to use duct tape - a bad idea. Santa now looks for his ladder so he can climb on the roof to install the lights. Unable to find his ladder, Santa decides to use his 5-foot wooden ladder and "stretch" to put the lights on the gutters. He wraps several strands of lights around his shoulder and climbs up the ladder. A gust of wind blows some debris from the roofing shingles into his eyes. Temporarily blinded, Santa attempts to climb down the ladder, but almost falling, he decides it is best to stay on the ladder and try to wipe his eyes. With his eyes still watering, he moves to the next section of the house to hang the lights. He realizes climbing up and down the ladder will take all day. There has to be a faster way to do this. After thinking for a moment, he decides to stand on the very top step and lean all the way to the right or left, allowing him to hang more lights. As he leans to the right, he begins to lose his balance. In desperation he tries to grab the rain gutter, but with a sprained wrist, the pain is too great. As Santa lies on the ground, he wishes he had gotten his extension ladder. Shaken and hurting, our holiday hero tries to get up but is in too much pain. But help is on the way in the form of Mrs. Claus. Hearing the loud thud as he hit the ground, she comes running out of the house. In a panic, she calls an ambulance and Santa is taken to the emergency room. Luckily, no bones were broken. This holiday season, use risk management in all holiday activities. Know your limitations and above all...be SMART and be SAFE. (Disclaimer: All events in this story are fictitious. Santa was not injured)