Dear Santa

I suddenly realized that it was a week before Christmas and I had yet to write my letter to Santa Claus. Having thus missed the opportunity to send him the proper missive by snail mail, I recognized that the only way that it had any chance to reach him in time would be to send him an email. Of course I'm sure that Santa gets millions of emails (Who can afford the postage these days?), so I began to think about how I could set my letter apart from all the rest.

Then it hit me. Rather than sending a simple email, I could instead write my request in the form of a blog posting. Based on our physical resemblance, our shared smoking habit (though I often prefer cigars to using one of my pipes these days), and the popularity of this website (Hah!); I thought it at least possible that the big guy would might read this in time to do me some good.

Besides, I thought that doing it in this manner would allow me the perfect opportunity to also rant about the tax rate negotiations and those that will now find something under their tree, the omnibus spending bill and all of the gifts that Congress seems to be trying to supplant Santa by delivering to constituencies (though it appears that this may not make a vote in time), and any number of other political pejoratives about the shenanigans that have been going on in Washington in the days leading up to the upcoming holiday that I could think of.

Just as I was getting the keyboard warmed up to deliver this scathing diatribe however, I discovered myself unable to do so. In a true Linus moment, it occurred to me that Christmas is not there for me or anyone else to use as a platform for political commentary, nor is it a time of year that should be used to attack anyone (even if they deserve it).

Whether one follows the religious interpretation of the holiday, the secular version of cheer personified in Dicken's "A Christmas Carol", or even the overblown commercial version lovingly demonized in "A Charlie Brown Christmas"; the day is meant to be one of fellowship, of sharing, and of giving.

That in turn made me take a look at a year all but ended, to see what I might want to put on my gift list for Santa. I found that in spite of being a year of rather more challenges than I expected, 2010 has nevertheless been a pretty good year. I have been granted pretty good health, the opportunity to reinvent myself (something long overdue), and a chance to spend more time with a family in Kansas City that I have seen far too infrequently over the last couple of decades (also long overdue).

I also find in looking about me, that I am blessed with three healthy, happy children; and five grandchildren of equal fitness and cheerfulness (one of which, Molly, is but a recent addition to the clan). Taking all of that under consideration, I find that I have a great deal for be thankful for this year.

This in turn brought me to the realization that I really had nothing that I wanted to ask Santa for this year. My needs and desires for material possessions seems to diminish with every passing year, and I find that the simplicity of such a life agrees with me. 

While I hope to be doing some traveling soon to pay visits to these offspring and their progeny, I am more than capable of handling that on my own, and will be confirming plans for this over the coming days. Even my man-toy list is non-existent this year, since I was forced to replace a computer that achieved room temperature a couple of months ago. While this self-given gift may have been a bit extravagant, it did allow me the guilty pleasure of continuing my literary efforts, both here and in the Toledo Free Press. It even provided what may be an additional opportunity to submit work for publication that I will talk about more in January if anything comes of it. 

Perhaps it's simply that not having trimmed my beard in a couple of months, the face that stares back at me in the mirror is simply too strong a reminder of a guy with eight reindeer (nine in bad weather) and the spirit of the season. I therefore find myself unaccountably filled with that Christmas spirit, and believe that I will simply relax and enjoy the feeling. So as far as that letter goes:        

Dear Santa, 


If you're reading this, don't worry about dropping anything off for me this year, I'm doing just fine. Besides, I'm sure that you have plenty of people out there who actually do need things and have been a lot nicer than me.

Thanks for everything you've brought me in the past by the way. It's all been pretty great.

If you'd like to stop by anyway while making your rounds, please feel free to do so. The cookies and milk will be on me. If nothing else, we can compare notes on diets that don't work and the proper care of white beards. 


Merry Christmas, 


 Tim