Local mall Santa goes above and beyond, pretends he didn’t fight in Afghanistan - The Beaverton
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Local mall Santa goes above and beyond, pretends he didn’t fight in Afghanistan

BURNABY, BC –  Performing the role with grace and feeling, local man Connor McKenzie has never once in his time as a mall let on that he fought for three years as part of the American-led coalition in Southern .

“He was so good with the ,” said Veronica Liu, mother of Penny, who sat on McKenzie’s lap for three minutes, asked for a Minions lunch box for Christmas,  and at no time suspected that McKenzie once narrowly escaped being blown to pieces by a roadside IED in Kandahar.

Liu is just one of many to have sat on Santa’s knee, without realizing was an elaborate prosthetic which had nearly bankrupted his . The occasion was particularly special for Quentin Jones, 4, who was about to see the jolly old elf for the first time.

“Santy!” yelled Quentin as his turn was about to come up, convinced that Father Christmas was not only real, but also someone who hadn’t fought in a dubious, stretched-out war for a country that abandoned him when he returned.

Despite incessant triggers, such as crying children, popping balloons, and shattering Christmas ornaments, McKenzie disguised his flashbacks to Korangal Valley with bathroom breaks he said were the result of ‘ too much ’.

Brentwood Town Centre plans to rehire McKenzie next year, citing his ‘popularity’, ‘professionalism’, and ‘unwillingness to reveal that he only accepted the job because he returned to wounded and unable to pursue his real passion of playing violin for the Symphony Orchestra.’