A fictional character came to life as Dr. Suess' Grinch reached through the pages of a book and stepped onto the grounds of U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys for a little holiday trouble.
Or so he thought ….
He peeked his head through the book and saw a whole other world. With a wide grin on his face, he knew what needed to be done.
Old Mr. Grinch grabbed his photographer to capture his misadventures and he headed to U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys.
Grinch was following Santa Claus and figured if the jolly, robust fellow could get around the world in one day, he supposed he could too.
Since Korea was a day ahead, he would start there and continue his shenanigans to the U.S.
First, he snuck into a house and gave the children quite a fright. He said this made him nervous, but he couldn’t forget: he was made to be mean.
As the story goes, the Grinch was born an odd little Who in Who-ville, a fictious place in one of Suess’ books. He was quite happy as a child until one Christmas he decided to make a gift for a special little girl.
This was the moment when he went from a Merry Christmas to a not-so happy holiday.
The Grinch said when he was a little Who in Who-ville, he handmade an angel tree topper out of all the utensils in his kitchen for Martha May, the Who of his heart. When he went to give her the gift, all the other Whos laughed at him and smashed his gift. He said this made is heart hard as a rock. This was the moment, he decided he no longer liked Christmas.
This Christmas, the Grinch heard something strange beyond the pages of his story, there was laughter and joy from every direction. He needed to stop the cheerfulness.
Unit parties, Discover Seoul, commissary, post exchange and Humphreys Central Elementary too … he traveled these places with the intent to steal joy. Little did he know the garrison’s community members would embrace his cold heart.
He said the hugs from the kids, Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) Soldiers and parents, gave him a tingle he couldn’t explain. His heart was doing something strange, making him feel in an unusual way.
“Why are you being so nice?” Grinch asked, “Did you not know my story? Had you not read the book?”
This was a strange world to the Grinch.
He said they were giving him the gifts that he wanted to steal.
The United Way gave him a recipe book, traditional Korean bookmark, and a warm drink. This was not what he expected, he needed to steal.
One day, he heard Santa was in town. He would be at Maude Hall’s USO taking pictures with children.
This was the perfect time to show Santa was not real.
He walked through the door with his menacing smile, taking hats from kids and making some frown. Then he spotted Santa sitting coy in his chair, his weird goofy smile going from ear-to-ear. The old man got up and waved him to come near.
The Grinch looked surprised but knew what to do. He walked up to the seat and gave Santa a look. At first, he just stared, then couldn’t resist - the mean old Grinch sat straight on Santa’s lap, smiled for the picture and that was that.
His trip did not go as planned, the Grinch had stolen nothing, in fact he made friends. How could this happen? What strange land was this where people showed love, happiness, and cheer? People seemed to welcome his callous disposition.
Oh no, what was happening to that cold heart of his?
He said these civilians, Soldiers, and children did something to him he could never forget … they showed him the love he never did get. It is important to check on the people you care about, said the Grinch. Do what makes you happy, he said and “don’t be a Grinch.”
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