5 Obscene Santa Claus

Bled was hosting a month long music festival in July so later that evening Donna and I attended a concert. The hall was the size of Rotary Theater. A couple hundred locals and visitors enjoyed a selection of contemporary and classical pieces performed by a 20-piece ensemble of mandolins, guitars, bass and drum. The theme to Jesus Christ Superstar was a crowd pleaser. Midway through the concert the back curtain rose to bring forward a brass section. Slavs love live performances. The applause was loud and enthusiastic after each piece. The audience begged for encores … four of them. The stout colorful conductor hammed it up. He was beaming. As the crowd filed out of the auditorium, we walked past a collection of “art” hanging on the wall. Each piece was an animated wooden box with a pull string at the bottom. Pull the string and some piece within the scene moved. For example, a girl in a rowboat waves her arm, a dove flaps its wings, a cheery Santa Clause obscenely flashes his red coat revealing his private member (oh my gosh), a green olive falls between a woman’s billowing bust (hide the kids). A Champagne, cheese, and grape reception topped the evening.