Singing about the Christ baby and the red-nosed deer

I stood in the outer lobby of the Slingerlands Price Chopper, wearing a red apron, ringing the small bell and singing a cappella every Christmas carol and song I know, getting louder as I got comfortable. Lot's of great interaction with odd Bethlehem people (Ah, Bethlehem), lot's of fun and funny looks. One woman stopped to sing some of "Rudolph" with me, her face very close to mine, grinning a toothless grin. A burly guy in his 40s said, "I like a man who takes his job seriously," and put $5 into the red pot, and then fist-pumped with me and went on his grocery way. Another woman in her '50s told me a story about being separated from her mother when she was little, on Pearl Street shopping at Whitney's; her mother panicked, called the police, and the little girl was found outside the store with Salvation Army Santa, ringing his golden bell. Several old and frail women thanked me for singing and smiled sadly, and at least two young men with drawn brows and poor clothes avoided eye-contact as they put in their money, and then said "God Bless" under their breath, for which I was grateful.