Well, here we are again. Another year soon to be in the history books. The Holiday's are upon us once again. I am a "bring your own God" kind of guy. I grew up Catholic and therefor celebrate Christmas. The following piece does not discriminate, despite the title and who it's written to. Please feel free to substitute Santa for whomever you wish. Either way, the message rings as loud today as it did when I wrote it. And, given the fact that some of the circumstances are the same, it may for years to come; though I hope not.
I wrote this in 1992. I was 21 years old. My girlfriend, my future wife, was pregnant with our first child. The United States was in the midst of the Gulf War. Although I was born during the Vietnam War, things had been fairly quiet for a while. The Gulf War touched a nerve in me that I had not felt before. Frankly, I was concerned. Concerned about my family, my friends and my country. I was having a hard time trying to figure out what was wrong with the world. I still do, but have realized that things are going to happen, because they are. I am but one voice and, last I checked, not many people are listening. I used to publish this in the Lake Placid News, but have decided to post it here this year. I hope you enjoy it...
My Grown Up Christmas List
Dear Santa,
When I was a child I used to write to you and ask for Tonka Toys, G.I. Joe's and toy airplanes.
Those were the days when my friends and I used to laugh all day without a care in the world.
Throwing snow balls, building igloos and making snowmen; surrounded by the innocence of our age.
Today I present to you, Santa, my grown up Christmastide* list.
I wish for:
1. The hungry to be fed.
2. All the homeless to have homes.
3. All the wars to end and the world to live in peace. What's all that fighting for anyway?
4. All the caged animals to be set free.
5. Every man, woman and child who walks the Earth to feel the freedom that I feel.
6. People to think more about their surroundings and really want to make them better.
7. All the people to fallow the Golden Rule and love their enemies as they do their neighbors.
8. All the murderers to stop killing and seek the help they need and desire.
9. The child molesters and abusers to stop robbing us of our youth.
10. Someone to find the cure for AIDS.
11. The strength to stop the pain that I see around me.
12. New born babies to be healthy and for pregnant women to stop smoking crack!
12.5. Addicts to find the strength within themselves to get clean.
13. All the races in all the world to come of age. To stop seeing the color of someone else's skin
Or ethnic background and see everyone as brothers and sisters. After all, there are only six
Degrees of separation.
14. The rain forests to remain so that every Human Being, animal and plant on earth has a fair
Chance to survive.
15. Chemical waste and pollution to stop so that our trees don't continue to die from acid rain.
16. People to stop thinking so much about money and remember there's more to life than the size
Of our bank accounts.
17. The seven seas to be clean so that the fish and all that inhabit them are assured a natural death.
18. To stop seeing so much land wasted. For some day we are going to run out of space.
19. To see the divorce rate go down and make sure we love the one we're with!
20. People and countries to be given back their stolen land.
21. People to learn more from past mistakes.
22. Finally, I want to see more peace, love and understanding around the world. People should know
The differences of others and learn to respect those differences. To put down their guns, because in the
Past twenty centuries forced death and destruction of others has rarely gotten us anywhere. Nor has it
Changed the situation we're in; accept for a few million dead men... Peace, Love and Understanding.
So, Santa, this is my grown up Christmas list. I realize that you can't do all of my wishes at once; but for the
sake of all new born children and for my own soon to be born child, if you could do as many as possible I
know that it would make their world a little brighter.
With Love,
John V. La Selva
*Christmastide is the holy period between December 25th and January 6th.
