MAKING LEMONADE

Charlie Russo spent much of his early years living in some form of child care. He was an orphan. He once told me that at Christmas he never went without, because of so many generous people, but the one difference was that the gifts under the tree for him were what people had given, but outside in the real world kids got what they wanted.

He's in his fifties now and a very succesful Suffolk County attorney. He's also a judge in the exclusive incorporated village where he has made his home.

But if you sit in his law office, one unique feature is that he does not have endless shelves of impressive looking books, or several diplomas on the wall to show why he is qualified to do what he does. Instead Charlie has framed letters from children thanking him for making a difference in their lives.

Remembering his roots, Charlie Russo makes a point of giving back. The Christmas Magic program he has created provides gifts for over 5,000 kids every year and they all get what they want. Charlie collects Christmas letters from shelters and other sources and then he makes up the orders so that each child gets exactly what they asked for.

When I met him today he had several wrapped boxes for a needy family. "They only wanted one thing", he explained, "a computer - so here it all is."

Charlie also gave us a van full of toys to distribute through our food pantry again this Christmas. Life must have been tough for him at times as a kid, but he has taken the lemons and made lemonade - lemonade that thousands of children are enjoying this Christmas.