Dear Santa, Ho, ho, ho again to you! As they sing in the Christmas carol, this is “the most wonderful time of the year!” I am happy to be writing to you once again from the newspaper office.

I think if you look inside our newspaper pages this week you will see letters to you from our local boys and girls. They are so excited. They have done well in their school and church programs. I have heard that many of them are planning to leave yummy treats for you and your reindeer on Christmas Eve.

I want to thank you for your influence in the past when I asked for world peace and a blue sweater for my own Christmas stocking. You have done a fine job supplying me with exactly the style, size, and type of blue sweater I was hoping to receive and I thank you.

My annual request for world peace, however, is quite a conundrum. I am not convinced that many of us know what we are doing in this regard and I hope that you might have time, as you circle the world and look it over on Christmas Eve, to think about a solution to this problem. I know it is a big issue, Santa, but you have great heart and tons of love and patience, and I think you could make significant strides.

I hope that by the time you get to Marion County on Christmas Eve, you still have some magic sprinkles with which to dust our area to help us work together. Perhaps there would even be some extra lumps of coal in your bag that could be left on the doorsteps of certain people who cannot bring themselves to be a part of things. It would be nice to have them get on board. Thanks, Santa.

In addition, as usual, could you do your best to grant the requests of the youngsters whose letters are printed in our newspaper? I think they are reasonable requests and I bet the children have been good all year.

Please toss out some love, understanding, and hope to the children and families in our communities who are in need of it this year, Santa. Try as we might to deal successfully with such problems, they seem to linger on. I know you have space in your sleigh for bags of compassion, tolerance, and kindness. Please leave some in our towns. I think we could use it.

Merry Christmas, Santa! Thanks so much for all you do every year. Once again, you are just the best!

—susan marshall