The 2026 wish list

Here’s my wish list for 2026, plus I’ll share a secret for helping some wishes come true.

I wish for a cure for male pattern baldness. That idea came right off the top of my head. I just need some seed money.

I wish for a vaccine for lying politicians. Lying would result in Pinocchio-style noses, their length in proportion to exaggeration. Perhaps long noses in our nation’s capital might point them toward honest debate.

“I’d like to teach the world to sing.” Coke had a delightful advertising jingle which included those lyrics. I’m a mediocre singer, but I’d like to post some songs online which I wrote years ago. Our triplets enjoyed them for a while so perhaps other children would too.

“I’ve got some friends I’d like to see again.” That wish is from the theme song of a television series Then Came Bronson. Michael Parks, the motorcycle-riding star of the show, was a hero to many teenage boys during my youth. That tune has been stuck in my head for decades. Sometimes I sing it while meandering down country roads in my truck.

I wish to become as good a man as my dog believes I am. Harriet’s opinion is no doubt influenced by regular walks and treats. Even without rewards though, dogs give mankind more credit than we deserve.

I wish to rid the woods we love of nandinas, cherry laurel, palmetto, briar vines, and kudzu. We’ve made some progress but have a long way to go. We won’t conquer them in 2026, but wishing doesn’t have to be limited by reality. Hopefully the list will remind me of wishes I can work on.

I wish to put in a shallow well with a hand pump in those same woods. I’ve been planning this for a while. Maybe I’ll get past the planning and have fresh water at our picnic site.

I wish Charlie Brown would kick the football through the uprights. Lucy has tricked him too many times by pulling it away. The kid deserves a chance, as do all children.

I wish people on news shows would stop habitually responding to questions by first saying, “That’s a great question.” There are occasional queries which deserve compliments, but not routinely. It’s fine to ask, “Do you believe the snow will impact travel?” but it doesn’t rise to the level of journalistic greatness.

I wish Netflix would offer G or PG rated versions of movies and other fare. Otherwise decent shows which include crude language could be cleaned up with dubbed lines. I’ve suggested this to Netflix before. My letter must have gotten lost.

While we’re on that subject, I wish influential people would stop using vulgar expressions. Entertainers, athletes, coaches, and even Presidents have gravitated toward conversational vulgarity. Some of the most prominent of today’s leaders are setting poor examples for the leaders of tomorrow.

I’m not out of wishes, but I am out of space, so here’s my first and second place. I’d like to teach the world to sing, and I’ve got some friends I’d like to see again. Work is the secret to helping some wishes come true, so make your own list and let’s see how we do.

Two more wishes before I close, though last perhaps the best. Happy New Year to you all. May our wishes which are worthy all be blessed.