All I Want for Christmas
Dear Santa Obama,
Do I have equal rights in this country yet? No, I don’t, but at least I don’t live in a place where I have to fear my Government will execute me because of who I love. Sure, there are people in this country that would like to see gay people dead – but it’s not law. I’m not going to get on my soapbox, but it’s the same conversation weve been having for 40+ years. Can we please just come together and get this done? I’m tired of feeling like less of a human being, less of a citizen of the good ole US of A than my neighbor, my brother or my best friend. That’s really all I want for Christmas.
This song doesn’t have a whole lot to do with equal rights, but the message is really the root of all the negative and evil issues in the world today.
Now I’ve been crying lately,
thinking about the world as it is.
Why must we go on hating,
why can’t we live in bliss.
Cuz out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train.
Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again.
Toys for Tots
Last night, a group of friends and I went to Dave & Buster’s for an evening of food, fun and sharing. If you’re not familiar with D&B, it’s sort of like an adult Chuck E. Cheese. They have decent food, a bar and LOTS of various video games, interactive ’shoot ‘em up’ and driving games, and good ol’ fashion skee ball! They also have those grabber hook games. Ya know, the kind that tries to grab a stuffed animal, or in this case, a blinged-out New York Yankees pendant for my good friend, Steve Calenzo. Oy!
Four years ago, another good friend of mine, Daniel Crews, came up with this great idea. Get a bunch of friends together, grab a bite to eat at D&B, then head into their fun zone to win, win, win – all in the desire to give those winnings away to Toys for Tots. There are a few different D&B package deals where you get dinner and a set dollar amount of game play. I went for the $23.99 package which included a blackened chicken pasta and $20 worth of games. Some of the games issue tickets when you win that can be exchanged for merchandise in the gift shop.
So, the seven of us, all grown men, let loose for a couple of hours to act like kids. After we finished playing all our games, we accumulated enough tickets to purchase 43 toys and stuffed animals that will be donated to the Toys for Tots organization. Can you think of an easier way to give this Christmas? For around $25, I was able to spend a couple hours eating, catching up, checking out cute straight men, having a BLAST with friends, both old and new, and doing it all to help children have a Merry Christmas! So what are you waiting for? Give it a try – there’s still time to head to Dave & Buster’s for a night of friends and fun and turn it into a worth-while outing.
Toys for Tots @ Dave & Busters. In this photo: Bo Andras, Steve Calenzo, Jon Strmiska, James Mann, Daniel Crews, Kurt Cunningham, Jim Butler
