Before I tell you the sad stuff, let me tell you some good news. Many of my Muslim readers have left comments that Allah will punish me for my nasty and offensive Muslim jokes. Well, the good news is that while Allah may be a humorless old fart, the God of the infidels has a great sense of humor and, instead of punishment from Allah, I have been greatly blessed with great gifts of a loving wife and beautiful children and grandchildren whose souls are gentle, loving and kind.

Now for the sad part: For as long as I can remember, we have always given gifts of money to our mailman and garbage collectors (three of them). This year was no different. But in one of our business locations (we have a jewelry store in Toms River, New Jersey), when we gave our mailman a $40 gift, tears came into his eyes. No joke, tears from a middle-aged man. He delivers to 140 businesses and 250 residential households every weekday and this year, except from us, he has received zero - not one. single. solitary. gift.

So when you hear of how great the economy is under Barack Obama, let us realize that things out there are actually quite horrible for too many Americans that they can't even afford a small gift.