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I wish you all the joyThat you can wish.- ShakespeareIf wishes were horses, beggars would ride; put your wish upon a star; I wish you a happy birthday; I wish you all the best. There are so many sayings with the words wish in them, but not all are good, for there are some bad mind people who wish harm on others."I wish that he would just drop dead"; "I wish that crosses would fall on her hard", and others that mirror the incantations of evil witches, sorcerers, or necromancers.Make a wish and hope that it comes true. In fact, I remember as a child holding the wishbone of a chicken at the dining table with someone else, pulling it apart, and making a wish as we did so. The belief was, the person who ended up with the larger part of that bone after it broke would have their wish come true.No one knew if it worked or not, but we kept on playing it, and in fact that practice endured for centuries, until chickens stopped having wishbones. I don't know if they really stopped having them, but I haven't seen one in a cooked chicken in years.In case you're wondering, the wishbone is that little bone that's shaped like a Y, each person would hold one top part of the Y and pull it. Now you know. But this is not about chicken wishbones or gizzards for that matter, but about the wish list that people make at the start of a new year.We'll explore this right after these responses to my platitude on 'Pyrrhic pleasures'. Hi Tony,I must confess that I wasn't familiar with the word pyrrhic before, but the concept is not alien to me. I am a prime example of someone who has won many battles, had many conquests, but the cost was just too much to bear. I have wheeled and dealed and amassed much, but at the expense of losing friends and family. Now, I have material things and money, but no one to share them with. I don't know if my friends or family want me or my money. I have lost more than I have won.Michael  Mr Teerob,Many men who give their all to win a woman are victims of pyrrhic pleasure and don't even know it. That brief moment of pleasure does not make up for all that they've done to achieve it. They will do all that they can do to get the woman, not knowing that she had her battle plan long before he even set out to win her. Before he knows it, he has lost his dignity, his self-esteem and his money. It's a lose lose situation.Peter  Can you believe that we are in the year 2022? When I started to write this week's column and put in the date, I had to pause, for I couldn't believe that the year 2022 was upon us. When I was a child it sounded so far away in the future, and we all thought that by now we would be living in the space age era of the Jetsons, with flying cars and interplanetary travel. Does anyone remember The Jetsons cartoon that used to be shown on TV?True, we have come a long way, for cellphones weren't even thought of back then. Well, Dick Tracy did have his two-way wrist watch radio. Science fiction does become science fact, but we still aren't zipping around in flying cars as yet.Nevertheless, here we are, at the dawn of a brand new year, with many people making the so-called resolutions about changing their lifestyle, losing weight, be a better person and all that jazz. Those so-called resolutions are as ephemeral as a wispy cloud that won't last longer than the wind that blows them away.Before they even start the thought, they fall right back into the same old routine and habits that are ingrained in them. "Boy, losing weight too hard yah man, I will start in the summer." So instead, I suggest that you make a wish list, for at least with a wish, the responsibility is out of your hands, and you can simply rely on the wish to come true, with no effort on your part. "I wish I had a million dollars." See how easy it is, much easier than going out and trying to earn that million dollars.What is a wish, though? A wish is to feel or express a strong desire or hope for something that cannot or probably will not happen."We wish for peace in the Middle East.""I wish that Miss Universe will come to my house tonight.""I wish that I was more beautiful."A wish can also be a desire to do something, ergo, "I wish to be involved in that meeting."In any event, a wish is a hope, bordering on a dream or flippant thought, as in wishful thinking. So if a genie appears out of a bottle or lamp and says that he wants to grant you three wishes, go for it, knock yourself out, but be careful what you wish for, for you might certainly get it. I know this guy who wished for a 10-inch cock and ended up with a rooster that he has to keep in his house and feed every day.Some people wish for friends, for as hard as it is to fathom, many people do not have true friends who they can rely on and trust unconditionally. Most people only have close acquaintances, associates, or fair-weather friends who exist on the periphery of their lives, but when it comes down to the crunch, that friendship is exposed for what it really is - shallow.So many people have been let down by so-called friends that they swear never to keep friends again. Also, it's difficult to make good friends late in life, so if you haven't got a true friend from many years ago, don't even wish for anyone new right now, for you won't be sure what you're getting. Lots of people have ulterior motives and only want what they can get from you.Do an experiment; announce that you win the lotto and see how many friends and relatives you suddenly acquire. And they all love you and mean you well. Maybe you'll even get a brand new young bride.If you ask women, though, at the top of their wish list stands a man. Yes, I said it, "I wish for a man, I wish that I had a man." But why? Because it's a new year, and having a man validates their existence, making them have a sense of well-being, of belonging, of having someone to call their own.The unfortunate caveat is, many women who wish for a man disregard the fine print that says conditions apply, for the devil is in the details. Sadly, they have to bear the consequences and live with them. Remember what I said, be careful what you wish for, or you may certainly get it. "She wish for a man, and him drop pure lick pon har."What do men wish for though? Some said money, but many wished for a bigger penis. Yes, many men are not satisfied with the size of their member, mostly because of watching too much porno movies and end up feeling grossly inadequate. "I wish for the size that those porn stars have." It's a secret wish of many men and the secret fear of many women.Related to that is the wish for more sex. We are a sex-driven society, and many men wish that they were getting more sex. Well, let me qualify it by saying that many husbands wish that they were getting more sex from their wives. It's the same old story as the old song by Dusty Springfield goes, Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'Plannin' and dreamin' each night of his charms That won't get you into his arms. Those words should really be sung by the husbands who can only wish wistfully for some loving. It's at the top of their list, although most won't admit to it, except to their close friends, or mistresses.Don't just take my word for it, as my findings have a scientific basis. The experts have compiled the top wishes of people that reads: Wealth; Fame; Success; Attractiveness; Status; Sex; Health; Enlightenment. All of these are supposed to bring happiness, but do they? Look at that list again, apart from health, all of those other things have been known to cause grief, destruction, and unhappiness. Again, be careful what you wish for.It was Brian Tracy who said, "It is not what you say, or wish, or hope or intend, it is only what you do that counts." And it was Tiffany Langford who said, "Don't wish your precious life away."sAs the new year starts, my friends, my wish for you is peace of mind. Have a wonderful new year.seido1yard@gmail.com Footnote: One big wish that I have is for this accursed virus to depart from this Earth forever and never return. With all the mutations that are occurring, I have a theory that may very well happen in the near future as the virus mutates upon itself, getting weaker each time, eventually consuming itself until it disappears. It's the same way that stars expand until they implode, consuming themselves until they turn into white dwarf stars and cease to exist. Scientists among you will get my drift. So save this page, for the experts will soon corroborate my theory. You can say that you saw it here first.