A Christmas Wish for Stockton
By Bobby Wallinger
I LOVE Christmas!
And this year I'm not going to make myself crazy trying to write
every word of my December column in the most “politically correct”
manner.
Now, suffice it to say, that my passion for the Christmas Holiday is
a direct result of my birth. Had I been born a Jew, a Moslem, a
Jehovah’s Witness, a Buddhist, and the list goes on and on and on, I
most likely would not consider Christmas as my favorite holiday. But
since I was born in the United States to two loving Presbyterian
parents, I grew up in a household of evergreens, mistletoe,
Christmas Eve candlelight church services, and Santa.
So now as I reflect on how all that resulted in my current status, a PRE-elderly, (obviously I’m well past middle-age but the term “elderly” gives me heart palpitations) middle class woman, semi-retired, widow, with a wonderful daughter, two terrific granddaughters, and a host of super friends who hang with me even on my worst days.
And as I acknowledge all my friends are not Christmas holiday participants, it is our respect for one another that keep our bond secure in the knowledge that “different” doesn’t have a negative connotation.
I, like everyone else in Stockton, have felt the pinch of a very, very, scary economy, have worried about a dear, dear neighbor as he served another tour of duty in the Middle East. Like everyone else in Stockton, I am shocked by the price of groceries, but hey, the grocers are paying more too.
I, like so many others am dismayed by the game-playing in Washington, the scandals at Penn State, the death of a young policeman in my home-town of Vallejo.
And those are just a few of the many things we can all fret about this holiday season. But then, I think about my adopted home-town…Stockton and I think about my Christmas list for our city.
Dear Santa,
My Christmas list is not about what I want, rather what I don’t want
this year. If you please,
l. NO MORE SHOOTINGS
2. NO MORE CHILD ABUSE
3. NO MORE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
4. NO MORE DRUNK DRIVERS
5. NO MORE TEEN PREGNANCIES
6. NO MORE ELDER ABUSE
7. NO MORE HUNGRY CHILDREN
8. NO MORE HOMELESS ADULTS
9. NO MORE BULLYING
10. NO MORE EXCUSES
Santa, Baby, if you can just take care of these ten things, I shall
be forever in your debt. And yes, Santa, I know that if I’m not part
of the solution, then, indeed, I AM part of the problem. So I
promise, I’ll do my part and hopefully this holiday, we shall be
reading about all of the really good things that make Stockton,
Someplace Special.
Happy Holidays from our family to yours and may the New Year be filled with Peace and Joy.
Love,
Bobbie
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