Friendly Salvation Army bell ringer missing his Santa Rosa post

Something’s amiss at the Safeway store on Santa Rosa’s Yulupa Avenue.

Every holiday season for the past five years, one of the best guys on Earth stood outside the doors and greeted shoppers as if they were friends. Russ Swart engaged youngsters, inviting them to step up to his Salvation Army kettle and ring the tinny bell.

He did that for nine hours a day, day after day. Through the five years, donors dropped into the retired car salesman’s kettle more than $63,000.

Russ wants to get back out with the people and the kettle, but, he said,“the physical strength isn’t quite there right now.”

He said he’d love to see more people become bell ringers. The Salvation Army’s finding it tough to fill slots this year.

Anyone interested can go to salvationarmysantarosa.org/christmas-kettle-signup or call Laura Shepherd at 535-4251.

Russ intends to soon get back to his post at the Safeway and to do what he can for the cause. “It’s probably better for me to be out there,” he said, “than to be home and looking outside.”

LOOK WHO’S BACK: Rich and Jennifer Lofton of Cobb were among the first people to lose their home to the Valley fire back on Sept. 12.

This past Saturday, Rich returned again to the ashes. As he prepared to sift for keepsakes, something brushed his pantleg.

Tux?

The black-and-white cat was much smaller than when Rich last saw him exactly 11 weeks earlier. The wildfire had swept upon his and Jennifer’s home so quickly that there was no time then to go look for Tux.

Many times since, they left cat food at the remains of house and returned to call out for the cat. Seventy-seven days after the flames chased him off, he was back, skinny and nursing an injury to his side, but OK.

THURSDAY’S THE DAY that about 80 restaurants throughout Sonoma County will donate a portion of the day’s sales to the ambitious, Forestville-based food bank that’s indispensable to hundreds of local people who live with HIV or AIDS.

“Dining Out for Life” has become a true occasion hereabout, with many diners looking forward to being greeted at their table by an ambassador from Food for Thought.

Check out fftfoodbank.org for a list of the participating eateries. I’ll pitch in for Dining Out for Life on Thursday morning and then through the lunch hour at Mac’s Deli & Café in downtown Santa Rosa.

COLD, COLD FEET: If you’ll go to Guerneville’s Great Tree Lighting at 7 p.m. Thursday, better bundle up.

And members of Guerneville Community Church invite you to bring a pair or two of new socks and drop them into the collection barrel. They’ll go to people who are living outdoors and whose most urgent needs include staying dry and warm.

Chris Smith is at 521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.