OMG ONE OF MY XMAS WISHES CAME TRUE

A year ago today I made my Christmas wishes for Cleveland, one of which was "I want Cleveland to learn to laugh at itself." Obviously I have powers, because it did:



Since I've got the wish fairy caught in a rat trap, and since my pole-dancing friend Kim is going to stay up late and help me catch Santa in a compromising position, this year I'm going to get greedy and ask for ten wishes:

1. I want more people to shop at Drug Mart instead of Walmart.
2. I want Cleveland to embrace the following things once and for all: winter, the term "Rust Belt," and not being New York or Chicago.
   
3. I want a Christmas miracle for public transit funding.
4. I want a Christmas miracle for the Christian Science Church at West 117th and Lake.
5. I want Clevelanders to remember the small arts organizations. Every dollar helps.
6. I want the unraveling of the cultural forces that converged to allow Imperial Avenue to happen.
7. I want to see more courage here.
8. I want all Clevelanders to open up a savings account. (Preferably at Third Federal, the bank that deliberately chose not to screw you in the foreclosure crisis.)
9. I want Clevelanders to really connect with their cultural heritage.
10. I want Cleveland to keep laughing. It's the best medicine, trust me. Better than ranitidine.

Now go read some other wishes. (I vote for the Ghoulardi statue.)