HONESDALE, Pa. — Michael G. Stanton is used to people pointing and staring at him. It comes with the territory when you stand in the middle of Main Street in Honesdale taking a shower, wearing nothing but your boxers.
"When you watch people in their cars, and you can read their lips, you know they're saying, 'What the?' And you can just insert whatever words, on their way by. Kids that are like glued to the windows," Stanton said.
But Stanton doesn't just enjoy bathing in the street. He does all this for a very special reason.
"Because kids should not have a bad Christmas. Kids should not have a bad life. If parents can't afford to get something for their kids, whether it's intentional or they're laid off or something, kids should not have a bad Christmas. So it's all for them."
Stanton keeps on splashing until he reaches his fundraising goal. All the money goes to the Wayne County Children's Christmas Bureau.
"We rely completely on this. Without this, we couldn't do what we do year after year after year," said Bill O'Neill of the Wayne County Children's Christmas Bureau.
Stanton has taken this shower in wind, rain, and snow.
The forecast for his Saturday morning's scrub is unseasonably warm. You'd think he'd be happy about that.
"It totally bums me out," Stanton said. "I really wish it would be colder, on one hand, because I think there's a 'wow' factor to it if it's snowing and it's 20 degrees, or 10 degrees, but you know, I'm not getting any younger! So 50 or 60 degrees is alright."
Stanton will be taking that shower Saturday morning on Main Street in Honesdale, starting at 10 a.m. His goal this year is to raise $30,000.