Sitting in my home office contemplating the upcoming holidays reminds me that I have yet to submit my wish list to Santa. It’s a long list, crammed with lots of items for me, and I have included some requests for you, the readers. Of course it’s also an opportunity for me to rant about some situations that have been troubling me all year. I know Santa will understand. He’s a good listener.

In previous years, I might have included on my list a Lionel train that was so elusive to me in my formative years, but with 11 grandchildren I can just play with their Thomas the Tank Engine layout. This brings me to my first wish—Please Santa, no more toys manufactured in China that contain lead paint!

Products from China should be boycotted. First, it was contaminated pet food followed by toothpaste containing antifreeze. On the heels of those catastrophes, we discovered that tires from China were faulty and that seafood was tainted. We then learned that Thomas the Tank Engine and other toys contained paint with high amounts of lead.

Americans are a forgiving society. If we dine in a restaurant and have a bad meal, chances are we’ll give the chef a chance for redemption and will return. If upon returning, the meal once again is a disaster, we cross that restaurant off our list.

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