OTTAWA (UPI) -- An accordion-playing Santa collecting for the Salvation Army was booted from a Canadian mall.
The Santa decided to pull out his squeeze box because too many people at the World Exchange Plaza in Ottawa were walking by without dropping anything in his kettle. A small group of people gathered to listen, followed by a security guard who said he had received a noise complaint, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
When the Santa moved outside, the guard followed and told him to move off the premises completely or stop playing, saying he could "call the cops and they can make a big thing out of it."
A Salvation Army official who was present said that no one she saw seemed unhappy with the music.
"I was watching people smiling and laughing and enjoying every minute of it," Colleen Everett said.
Salvation Army officials say that donations are down this year, possibly because many people who have given for relief to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Kashmir feel tapped out.
That's just plain sad. A few weeks ago, at my Wal-Mart...as we were walking in, a Salvation Army Bell ringer pulled out his horn and started to play. It was lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad indeed. Who'd hate on a accordion-playing Santa this time of year?
ReplyDeleteSo many people are so self-absorbed these days, they can't enjoy anything that doesn't fit into their personal plan, even during the holidays.