Dear Ivan:

Tomorrow is the first night of Hanukkah (also another holiday you may have heard of called Christmas).  It is the Season of Good Cheer, or so it should be.

Don’t worry,  you will get more than you share of toys, cookies and other snacks and fun things that fall into the category of “no-nos.”

However, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that it it appears that Donald Trump really is going to be our President come January 20, 2017, and he keeps managing to say and do things that have the whole World freaking out.  As an aside, if you ever wind up being in a position to control an arsenal of 7000+ nuclear warheads, it’s not a good idea to make cavalier statements about that arsenal.  Also, I should pause here to note that being an inveterate liar, while perhaps an exciting way to live life, is not an ideal way to behave.  Remember, honesty is the best policy, even if lying can sometimes get you out of trouble.  In addition, I note that threatening people who belong to minority groups by suggesting you will force them to register or be denied rights or be followed surreptitiously (or not) by police simply because they belong to a minority group might be newsworthy, but, then again, so are so many other crimes.

Point is, unlike what Richard Nixon said, just because the President does it, doesn’t make it legal, nor, indeed, does it make it moral, ethical, desirable or worthy of having been done in the first instance.

So, yes, Ivan, do enjoy the holidays, but remember, if you need to have a role model, let’s keep it to Hanukkah Harry, or even Santa, but not the Great Pumpkin, who know serves as the President-Elect.