Festivus for the rest of us!

Hear ye, hear ye, we’ll now have the airing of the Festivus grievances.

If you ever watched the TV show Seinfeld, you know that today is Festivus — created to fight the pressures and commercialism of Christmas. After the traditional dinner, participants express specific annoyances or disappointments with the others present. It’s a moment of public critique.

As Frank Constanza, George’s father, says in the Seinfeld Festivus episode, “I got a lotta problems with you people, and now you’re going to hear about it!”

This is my chance to let you all know how you’ve disappointed me this year. Here’s my chance to even the score. “I got a lotta problems with you people, and now you’re going to hear about it!” And yes, for those keeping score, this list is a bit different from My Grown-Up Christmas List that I posted on Monday. Listen up and take notice people!

–Rude people. C’mon, you know who you are. You can do better.

–Hypocrites. There’s too many of these men and women to count in high offices in government and organized religion, so let this one stand for all of them. Get it together. Mean what you say, say what you mean.

–More of the good stuff! Wynne and Vicki from The Heart of the Matter. Hello guys, we need more of your podcasts. Some of us live slow, boring lives. We need you to keep us updated on all the cool books and topics out there. Ha, ha. (Just kidding guys . . . I know it’s a ton of work, but I thought you’d appreciate the laugh!)

–Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI here, AI there, it seems to be everywhere. Here there and everywhere. Are you keeping up with all the AI improvements? It’s transforming everything about our lives. Some of is myth, some of it is real, but it’s definitely in our lives. I don’t know about you, but I need to hear less of how wonderful it is and simpler tips that make sense. How about: Less sales, more service.

–Disasters and Tragedies. We’ve had a tough year! The Southern California Wildfires that raged out of control, the Central Texas flooding that took many innocent lives. We’ve had way too many shootings. (One is too many and boggles my mind that others don’t feel the same way. In any event, we need help to stop these preventable tragedies.) The Russia Ukraine War and the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip have resulted in unparalleled devastation and humanitarian catastrophe. Get it together people.

–My coworkers. C’mon on people, get with the program. Chop, chop! Wait a minute, you mean I’m the one who was late on the last project. Oops! But I had a good reason. Ha, ha, maybe instead of blaming others. I should be asking for more grace and compassion in our lives!

Oh good grief, no more Festivus. I’ll stick with Christmas! 🎄