Come tax time, some guests at Mark Diekroetger’s business find it hard to leave the reception room of his business. It’s not because they’re afraid of their taxes. It’s the crackling fireplace, comfy chairs and friendly dogs Soda and Harris. 

For just $1, the now dog-eared ticket offered the holder a chance to become the proud owner of a $7,800 “model home.” 

OK, that may be a bad choice of words, but the point is that Santa will be arriving for the parade next Saturday — drum roll, please — by helicopter.

Dear Len & Rosie,

My friend Bob Jergovic, chief investment officer for CLS Investment Firm, sent me an interesting piece of information. He quoted from a 2007 book by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a professor of finance and a former Wall Street trader. The book is entitled “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.”