Dear Santa,

How’s it going old man?

I know I don’t have to tell you, but I’ve spent 2015 being a pretty great person.

This, of course, may be contrary to my in-laws to be who graciously presented me with my own bag of coal this Christmas. No hard feelings though; the coal turned out to be candy.

Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve written you, but I assume our deal still stands, right? I’m good for a year, and I get a haul of my favorite things?

Well I think you’ll notice my list has changed quite a bit since I wrote you last:

1. A nice deed. Do something nice that you wouldn’t have otherwise done and know that that is going to make me happier this Christmas than any material possession I could possibly get.

2. Billy’s pizza. I don’t know how they do it, but I could live off of those cheesy slices.

3. Oreo cookie dunker. I know it’s only a few dollars, but I couldn’t imagine spending money on a frivolous piece of plastic, I certainly wouldn’t mind having one of your elves craft me one.

4. An act of charity. I guess it’s true, I really have everything I could possibly need, and there are those who are far less fortunate than I could imagine. A charitable donation to the United Way or the Salvation Army’s thrift store could go a long way.

5. A car detailing. I know your elves are extremely busy, but if they could spare an hour or two or three, my Jeep would certainly do well with some TLC this holiday season.

6. A special Facebook filter. Call me apathetic, but at this point I’d rather see no political Facebook posts at all than the ridiculous, outlandish things I’m seeing now. And it’s only going to get worse.

7. Pay a month of my mortgage. While my mortgage is by no means unreasonable, it’s nice to think of what I could do with all of that extra cash.

8. Prayer or positive thoughts. I found out Tuesday morning one of my favorite readers and cooks, Ethel Myles, who was diagnosed with stage IV liver cancer recently had passed away. She’s been the head cook at Warner-Tully YMCA camp for the last 15 or so years, and she and her daughters Eddie Perry and Mary Hyder have fed thousands of kids over the years. We will forever miss Mrs. Ethel.

Always believing,

Austin Vining

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Austin Vining is a staff writer at The Vicksburg Post. You may reach him at austin.vining@vicksburgpost.com.