Slideshow: The real Santa, also known as Ron Vailencour, holds a pin with his wife's photo on it. Click on the image for more photos from Jerry's column.
Meet the real Santa Claus
You can tell he is the genuine guy because the pin he fished off of his shirt front is his wife Carol.
Now that is a true sign of pride and devotion. He has to be a saint.
He is Ron Vailencour and lives in SeaTac when he isn't wearing his red suit.
He and Mrs. Santa have two sons.
He has been doing this Salvation Army Christmas bit for eight years and says the generosity factor is alive in spite of the recession.
He did say one donor, dressed in fine duds stopped by recently, reached in his pocket and pulled out a heaping handful of coins, carefully chose a shiny penny and dropped it in Santa's pot. Then smiled and left.
"Merry Christmas, sir," Santa Ron said.
Meet Jessica Gasperini
She is holding hungry impatient 5-week-old son Jack during a rest stop while shopping in Burien.
Jessica works as a recruiter for Microsoft, which is diligently looking for sales employees who work or formerly worked for Google to sell advertising.
She and her husband live in South Park. He is a finished cabinets and interior woodworking craftsman.
