My Christmas Wish

Dear Santa;

Tommy here. I’ve been a good boy this year (please – control your laughter!). Let’s see – what do I want for Christmas?

(Aside: Yes, it does seem a little silly for a 40 year old guy to write a letter to Santa, so I’ll just address it to the blog, and hope that the rest of the world doesn’t question my sanity.)

There’s not much in this world I really *need*. Oh, sure – there’s stuff I’d like to have, but overall? I’m a fairly lucky guy. I have a wonderful wife, a great daughter, two old cats that manage to make my life even better, a fairly stable roof over my head, a convertible that’s tons of fun from mid-May until the first of October, a career path that I like doing, a pretty smart head on my shoulders, a taste for adventure, and a wicked sense of humor. What more could I really ask for?

Well, I suppose I could ask for the Powerball numbers for this Saturday’s jackpot, or a million frequent flyer miles, or a platinum card that I mysteriously never am billed for, but that’d just be greedy, now wouldn’t it?

True, I’m not financially rich by any means, but I’m rich in other ways. Money isn’t everything, you know. I’m just your ordinary middle-class guy, getting by the best that I can, hoping to God that the economy doesn’t collapse around him. I’m a hard worker, and I’m willing to go the extra step to have the special amenities (trips, convertibles, etc.) that make life so much fun. I may not have loads of cash stuffed in mattresses or Swiss bank accounts, but that’s okay – it just means I don’t have to worry about protecting it all the time.

I live a pretty good life, with a family that loves me and a (generally) sunny outlook on life. Hopefully one day soon I’ll be basking in the glow of warm weather, enjoying life to its fullest, and wondering what’s next on the horizon.

So with all that being said, here are my Christmas wishes for 2005.

Peace on Earth. Is that really too much to ask? I know I ask for it every year, but c’mon – one of these years, it ought to come through.

Good health. Lord knows I’m trying, but if you can keep the cancer bug away for another year, I’ll be thankful.

Wisdom. I like being the smartest kid on the block, and I could always use some more brains in my head.

Wit. See my request for “Wisdom”, and just change the wording.

Happiness. Basically I’m already pretty happy – I wish everyone else was, too.

Love. All you need is love, love, love is all you need.

Two weeks at Walt Disney World. Everyone needs to ask for something totally superfluous; why not me?

A writing job in Florida. This one you may have to wait one more year to deliver, but I’m willing to wait. Not very patiently of course, but I’ll wait.

Peace on Earth. It was such a good idea, I thought I’d list it twice.

So there you go, Santa. I hope it’s not too much to ask. Take good care of Dasher & Dancer & friends, and make sure you always put one foot in front of the other. Soon you’ll be walking out the door!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone.

Your pal,

Thomas J. Gressel

P.S. – If you wouldn’t mind, how about slipping an extra $50 into the stockings of all my faithful blog readers (both of them)? It’s the least I can do for making them slog through this crap for the last 7 months. Ciao!