Santa drives more than a reindeer-drawn sleigh, at least he does in Dallas.
Johnny Wicker, aka: Taxi Santa, dons the red suit and black boots popularized by a certain jolly old elf to drive fares over the river and through the woods — wait, that’s Thanksgiving … to drive fares around town while promoting Christmas cheer.
Wicker started gigging as Santa the Christmas after his mom passed away in 1998. The Santa act, he said, is a tribute to his mom, who loved the holiday. By 2003, he applied the persona to his duties driving a taxi, and lo, Taxi Santa was born.
He drives a cab powered by natural gas, avoiding the methane emitted by livestock such as reindeer, and that make him environmentally conscious as well as Christmas cheery.
He does it, he said, just to bring a smile to some faces, which, in turn, makes him happy.
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“It makes me feel good to see a smile on someone’s face,” he said in an NBCDFW mobile interview.
The beard, by the way, yeah, it's real.
Bruce Felps owns and operates East Dallas Times, an online community news outlet serving the White Rock Lake area. If he takes a Santa-driven cab from a Christmas party, he’s swearing off the eggnog.
