A year ago, after a decade of presenting to the masses The Sammy Claus Wish List, there was no Christmas Spirit in The Manoverse. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the malaise I was feeling not only foreshadowed my own personal health issues, it was the precursor to a year most of us will be glad to see come to an end. Things may not be perfect heading into 2021, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel concerning my particular situation, and the rest of the world has reason to be optimistic that lockdowns, social distancing, mask wearing, and other related roadblocks may eventually give way to a return to normalcy. It may not happen overnight, but there is hope, and it is with that sense of positive anticipation that Sammy Claus has decided to resume traditional activities.
To refresh your memory, being Sammy Claus wields no special power. I can only hope that The Big Man at The North Pole has time to surf The Net and 
read what we publish here, then see fit to grant these wishes. Let’s face it…the past several months haven’t been easy for most of us, but perhaps handing out the suggested gifts to the entities mentioned here could atleast put a smile on some faces and make the world a slightly better place. Aside from all of that though, I sincerely hope The Manoverse never forgets the reason we celebrate Christmas. I am very honest in admitting that my faith has been tested this year, and ashamed to admit that I too often fail the test. But, as Rocky Balboa once said, “life ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” Christmas is a much needed reminder of our eternal reason to never give up.
COVID-19/Coronavirus – obsolescence 😷
The Pittsburgh Steelers – receivers who can actually catch the damn ball 🏈
Rush Limbaugh – a miracle 🙏🏻
Cardi B – a dry towel & an ounce of class 😳
Social Media “Fact” Checkers – an especially warm spot in the fiery pits of Hell…we all know what’s really going on 🤬
Live Music & Sports – the return of packed venues of raucous & appreciative fans 🎭
Small Business Owners – survival followed by prosperity 💰
Virginia, New York, & Michigan – new Governors 🇺🇸
Essential Employees & Frontline Healthcare Workers – kudos & a big fat raise
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Social Distancing – hugs & kisses 🤗😘
Newspapers & TV News Outlets – truth serum 📺🗞
Vice President Mike Pence – a fly swatter 🪰
The Month of March – Madness (the good kind 🏀)
California – Wasn’t it supposed to fall into the Pacific Ocean decades ago??
Will & Jada Smith – a DVD of Disney’s Tangled 😬
Bill Gates – a medical degree, because that’s the only way anyone with an ounce of common sense will ever listen to the garbage he spews about vaccines 🤦♂️
Murder Hornets – death!! 🐝
Mike Tyson – a title fight…come on, y’all know you want to see it!! 🥊
The Constitution – protection from the assault it is about to face the next few years 🙏🏻
Wolfgang Van Halen – much success as he embarks on his own career in the formidable shadow of his legendary late father 🎸
As always I shall end with the traditional quote from the Rankin-Bass animated classic Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town:
“Lots of unhappiness? Maybe so. But doesn’t Santa take a little bit of that unhappiness away? Doesn’t a smile on Christmas morning scratch out a tear cried on a sadder day? Not much maybe. But what would happen if we all tried to be like Santa and learned to give as only he can give…of ourselves, our talents, our love and our hearts? Maybe we could all learn Santa’s beautiful lesson and maybe there would finally be peace on Earth and good will toward men.”
I have a comfortable detachment from the idiocy that happens in the Hollywood community. Entertain me and I am generally willing to overlook whatever kind of stupidity they spew, which is why I’ve stopped watching late night television…they stopped being entertaining & crossed the line with their propaganda. Anyway, I’ve listened with some bemusement to all this Harvey Weinstein hullabaloo. I’m not sure why anyone is so surprised. We’ve all heard about the “casting couch” for decades, but somehow it’s supposed to shock me that the CEO of a movie studio was engaging in such activities instead of some low level producer or director?? I’m not the least bit astonished. What is funny…in an aggravating sort of way…is watching all of these morally bankrupt celebrities feign surprise and try to cover their ass. Come on folks…you play dress up & pretend for a living, yet you’re such terrible liars. I’m not really sure about fate, kismet, & all that jazz, but the irony that all of this is coming to light after so many folks out in Hollywood have aggressively condemned President Trump for his faults the past couple of years exposes their total hypocrisy.
So we just “celebrated” Columbus Day recently. The term celebration is used hesitantly because all it means in reality is that government offices are closed, so I’m glad the friendly neighborhood mail carrier atleast got to enjoy a day off. The United States first recognized the holiday in 1937, and it is actually celebrated in other places like Argentina, Venezuela, The Bahamas, Spain, & even Italy. The states of Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, South Dakota, & Vermont don’t recognize Columbus Day, although a couple of those states celebrate an alternative called Discoverer’s Day, and a growing number of localities in wussified blue state America are promoting Indigenous People’s Day. This all stems from folks being all bent out of shape because Christopher Columbus was allegedly mean to peaceful & friendly Indians. Oops…I’m sorry…Native Americans. At any rate, this “controversy” got me to thinking. If we are going to rebrand holidays in an effort not to offend anyone by diminishing the accomplishments of imperfect people with a few skeletons in their closet why not go all in?? Since I am a solutions oriented guy allow me to offer some suggestions:
Dick Clark Appreciation Day. New Year’s Eve/Day is insulting to the old year that may have done nothing wrong.
#BlackLivesMatter Day. Sorry Martin Luther King, Jr…time to add some zest to this holiday.
We’re Sick of Winter Day. It is unfair to celebrate the groundhog above any other rodents. Plus, the supposed power to predict the weather is offensive to meteorologists.
Public Servants Day. Some of those mean Presidents owned slaves, raised taxes, & cheated on their wives. Abraham Lincoln was tall & lanky, which might offend fat people. Plus…Donald Trump!! Besides, why should Presidents get all the glory?? Big Government has a lot of moving parts that demand respect.
Candy & Flowers Day. Saint Valentine was…shhhh…a Christian. We can’t have that.
Bunnies & Eggs Day. Risen Savior?? Oh no…we can’t celebrate that!!
Irish Heritage Day. The same thought process applied to Saint Valentine must be used for Saint Patrick.
Stars Wars Day. Disney agrees to pay for President Trump’s Big Beautiful Wall, and in exchange Cinco de Mayo fades away into the sunset. May the Fourth be with you.
Decoration Day. Actually this was the original name for Memorial Day, and we’re going back to it because decorations are fun!!
Parents’ Day. Mother’s Day & Father’s Day may offend the transgender community.
July 4th. I suppose we kind of have this one covered already, don’t we?? We don’t want to offend the British, we just want to get drunk & blow stuff up.
Union Strong Day. Labor Omnia Vincit!!
Pumpkin Spice Day. Hey, it already dominates everything in the autumn. Besides, Halloween has pagan origins and it’s scary.
Santa Claus Day. We can rid ourselves of the pretense and stop offending non-Christians. Everybody wins. Well…almost everybody.
it there. At any rate, after several members of the San Francisco 49ers kneeled during the national anthem the Vice President and his entourage made a big show of leaving the stadium immediately in disagreement with the protest. I respect Pence and, like many people who voted for that particular duo in the election, count on him to provide political experience and a voice of reason to balance out Donald Trump’s…occasionally inappropriate instincts. However, this thing was nothing but a publicity stunt. He had to know that there would be kneeling. Surely he has been paying attention as the uproar over these anthem protests reached a fever pitch not long ago. And even though the furor has calmed just a bit it is an ongoing issue. I feel the same about the situation as I do about most everything else…if it doesn’t affect me I don’t pay too much attention. But just like those late night shows that began infringing on my relaxation time with their political venom, this little photo op by VP Pence involved me (and y’all) by using taxpayer money for a completely unnecessary temper tantrum. I’ve seen some pretty big dollar figures thrown around as far as how much the stop in Indiana cost, and I would have rather seen that money used in just about any other way.
violence about 25% occur in four major metro areas: Chicago, Baltimore, Washington DC, & Detroit…all of which already have strict gun control laws since the powers-that-be have mostly been leftists. Oh, speaking of which…23% of gun violence occurs in the state of California. Now I grant you…it’s a big state. But one cannot deny that it too…like those other areas…is run by liberals and has super tough gun laws. So essentially half of true gun violence in America happens in four big cities and one large state, all of which share similar political ideology and already have the most strident gun laws. Let’s also look at the fact that, in comparison to the 5100 deaths due to actual gun violence there are 40,000 drug overdoses, 36,000 people die from the flu, & there are 34,000 traffic fatalities annually. And in case you’re wondering…heart disease is responsible for over 700,000 deaths each year, yet no one is suggesting we ban fast food restaurants. Remember these numbers the next time you hear a politician or “journalist” say gun control is about saving lives, and understand that the truth is hiding in plain sight…it’s the word “control”.
The Manofesto 