A man I’ve known for more than 40 years (met him in late 1983), Mike Blum, played the part of Santa Claus in the Upper Valley for 20 years straight. Not being all that enlightened, I once asked him why he quit dressing up in red.“Well,” he said after a pause, “I did it for 20 years.”Duh, I thought. Dumb question. After 20 years, who wouldn’t be ready to hang up their Santa suit? The fact that Blum played the part for kids near and far and did it for two decades is an amazing accomplishment.Back circa the 2000s, longtime ...