My ding-a-ling before Christmas Day is simple: Have a merry merry merry Christmas!

To LBJ Medical Center:

When you have parents and family living in your parking lot because their child is sick and possibly dying — care a little bit — Don’t wait for a news article to get you to do something. GONG!

I couldn’t help but think when I read the story that if this was the child of a “leading matai” … or senator or faipule's family … would they not already be on the plane and the child receiving treatment?

And what about that 2% tax LBJ gets from the taxpayers for the off-island referral program? Isn’t this exactly what it’s there for? Or are they using it for payroll, since they are not getting their Medicare payments— since LBJ took an advance out on them and won’t start getting any money until the middle of 2015?

Or maybe the ASG is just not paying the 2% to LBJ, because it’s too busy hiring people like a $50,000 Manu’a Administrator to oversee all those departments in the Manu’a Islands for less than 1,000 people living there… GONG!

To the alleged abusive Hawaiian Air passenger:

Really dude… we, Samoans have a hard enough time living down our reputation as being “fresh off the banana boat” — now you are also showing us up to be racists… GONG!

The shame of it is that we have some awesome Samoans on the world stage.

In recent news: There’s Marcus Mariota, who just won the Heisman Trophy; Johnny Toma, who recently earned his Corporate International Masters (CIM) degree, and; Poe Mageo, who is now a “published author”, adding to his accomplishments in music.

And then there are the many that are making their way to doing some awesome things with their lives, like the Toa-o-Samoa warriors with the US Armed Forces — we just focused on their tautua to the Territory through “Wreathes Across America”, and were asked to remember the survivors, as well as the families of those who served and who are serving during this Christmas season in our prayers.

To the Attorney General:

The recent incident where an Immigration Officer told a Customs Officer — that he doesn’t have the authority to tell him how to do his job and swore at him is unfortunate because if you cannot be corrected by your peers, then who? Is this a case of “Do you know who I am?” GONG!

I ask because obviously the AG did not know who the Customs Officer was who he denigrated— when he stepped in to defend his ‘employee’, based on what the AG said was their investigation into the matter and discussions with Immigration officers.

He said, “It’s unfortunate there was a dispute with our Immigration officer and someone from Customs, whom I understand is not usually there. He was there and perhaps he was not familiar with the process. There was a heated conversation and it’s unfortunate that happened, however when the Immigration officers went in to process the boat for clearance they did their job.”

The “someone from Customs” was Senior Customs Agent Supervisor Mata’u Meafua Keniseli, who has 36 years of experience at his job, while “our Immigration officer” was the Supervisor for Immigration Enforcement Division, Maui’a Si’itia, who has only been at his job for a year.

And, yes, while its true Immigration did do their job — that was not the issue of the heated discussion between the two men. It was about the time everyone stood around waiting for Immigration to turn up to do their job.

I think Maui’a said it best that day: Clearing the Lady Naomi is not a priority for the Immigration enforcement unit as they had other pressing issues that they needed to tend to.

I guess all those overstayers are finally being rounded up… GONG!

To All Our Samoa News readers, from my favorite Christmas carol, “The Christmas Song”:

“And so I'm offering this simple phrase

To kids from one to ninety-two,

Although it’s been said many times, many ways

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas…”

MANUIA LE KERISIMASI — DING-A-LING-LING!