I wrote a letter to Santa yesterday.
Haven’t done that since I was a kid.
Addressed it to the North Pole, put a stamp on it and dropped it at the post office.
It felt a little silly, but I figured it was worth a try.
Along with the letter I included my Excel spreadsheet wish list, which was color-coded, organized by category and included hyperlinks for easy, one-click shopping.
What did I ask for? Nothing special.
Mostly an assortment of high-end electronics, fine jewelry, designer suits and imported luxury items.
I think there was a German sports car and some kind of boat on there too. All the rare wines and sports memorabilia went on separate lists, and instead of asking for just one watch, I sent along a page from the Rolex catalog with my top three choices marked by Post-It notes.
Let's just say that there were LOTS of pages and TONS of small print.
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, right? So this year, I decided to go for quality AND quantity. Unload with both barrels.
Now that it’s mailed, I’ll sit back, cross my fingers and hope that Mr. Claus is feeling generous.
By my estimate, if he comes through with just 10% of the loot on my list... it's going to be a VERY Merry Lombardi Christmas indeed!
Of course, I'm kidding.
I don’t want all those things and I definitely don’t NEED them. Not sure that anybody really does.
I’d never bother Mister Claus with a massive list of high-ticket items.
That idea goes completely against the spirit of the holiday season. This is not the time of year (or the year, for that matter) to get greedy and materialistic. I’ve always been a bigger fan of giving than receiving.
Besides, even if I DID send a list? Asking for anything other than a Ferrari or Lamborghini would dishonor my family name!
The truth is, I did send a letter... no wish list attached.
I was only checking up on the big guy. Wanted to make sure he was doing okay and had a plan for staying safe on Christmas Eve.
Ever since he reached out to me last year, I’ve been thinking about him.
The least I could do was let him know that he has people who care about HIM, and not just what he’s got in that big gift bag.
Santa Claus has his work cut out for him this year.
It’s been a rough 12 months all over the world and that’s a lot of ground for one guy to cover in a night. Sprinting from Corolla to Cairo, spreading good cheer from rooftop to rooftop? That’s got to do a number on his lower back.
I’m ready to help pick up some of the slack.
So if you've been racking your brain trying to figure out the perfect Christmas gift for Larry Lombardi this year?
Help me lighten Big Red's workload.
Spreading holiday cheer takes almost no time, costs absolutely zero dollars and can make all the difference in somebody’s day.
Make a list of people you know and reach out. Send a text, bang out an email, or maybe go crazy and PICK UP THE PHONE.
Let them you know you care. Ask how they’re doing. Ask if they need anything. Share a few jokes. Wish them well.
That's all I want.
But of course, if you don't think you can swing that... I'll take an SF90 Spider in Rosso Corso.
Have a safe and happy holiday season!
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Larry Lombardi
Director of Economic Development
