Friday, December 26, 2025

Fred Smith Does it Again - with some help - SAInt Nick’s Visit to New York

Friday, Dec. 26, 2025
 
Every year since, forever, Fred Smith has posted his Xmas message. You can read them all at Ed Notes archives and they are all worth it being so topical. 
 
Another year, 
another poem from Fred.
Not a lot of cheer
in a dismal year. 
But do not fear,
We have Fred's Photo with NY Jets Dancers
For us to share
--- Norm's feeble attempt at rhyme

Fred Smith has been posting his xmas messages here and elsewhere for many years. The message may be a bit gloomy, but have no fear, Fred always has a cheer.

I first met Fred, a testing expert who used to work as a statistician for the old NYCBOE, when he contacted me about getting ICE members to assist in gathering data for his exposures of the evils of testing I think sometime around 2008. He then got involved with groups like GEM and Change the Stakes and was a co-winner with me and Danny Dromm of Leonie Haimson's Skinny Award in 2018 - (June 19 - I'm a Skinny: Honored to be honored by )

Fred Smith has done it again with his yearly Xmas special. 
 

If it's Christmas, it must be Fred at Ed Notes.

Here is Fred's message for 2025: 

I wanted to use AI to compose a spoofy version of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” that would focus on New York City politicos and the gifts Santa would bring them tonight.  I charged Chatgpt the task of creating couplets designed to incorporate snippets about each personality, hoping this faceless poet would parody the beloved classic. 

With impressive speed, the flash of a few seconds, Chatgpt returned rhymes based on its “understanding” of my choppy input.  These seeds required my limited intelligence to sprout.  Here’s the result of our collaboration.

SAInt Nick’s Visit to New York

Christmas Eve came and went, although Santa was sad.
There were good kids in Gotham but some who were bad;
His elves were tired, the deer a year older,
And he now bore his sack on a sore shoulder.
Why bother to make a list or check it twice;
His heart not in it, he sought AI’s advice.
When all at once, this burden turned into a game,
As rhymes and gifts appeared next to each person’s name.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
For Andrew Cuomo:
A book filled with the lessons he hasn’t yet learned,
Not bundles of accolades which he never earned.
A mirror for moments he’d rather not face,
And a clock ticking loud on man’s power and place;
A humility pill to swallow each day,
With a card from St. Nick: “Think of staying away.”
 
For Zohran Mamdani:
Energies to take on the battles ahead
Brought by enemies who fear he’ll do what he said.
He’ll need advisors tuned to his working-class call
For its fair share of the pie even if small.
And last from Santa, with a half-cup of cheer—
A phonetic name plate to start out the New Year.

For Curtis Sliwa:
Santa winked upon Curtis this Xmas eve,
Red beret blazing and without tricks up his sleeve.
From Guardian Angels to mayor’s debate,
This cat-loving crusader spoke to us straight.
While Cuomo grumbles and blames Sliwa for losing,
Nick gave him props—he was not merely amusing.
 
For Jessica Tisch:
He sent the Commish wishes this season of light,
Whose proud Chanukah heritage keeps burning bright.
When she and Zohran shared a meal of shawarma,
She soon warmed up to this prison reformer.
Claus hoped when their views about Israel burst,
They could differ but have city safety come first.
 
For Michael Mulgrew:
Santa has a weathervane that helps guide his sled.
Wryly, he gave it to Michael Mulgrew instead.
This gift fits his ever-quick shifts ‘tween to and fro,
For which way the wind blows Mulgrew always must know.
A rigged voting process ensures re-election;
Union members sold out can’t force his rejection.
 
For Eric Adams:
Hizzoner skipped town, so no Christmas visit,
Closing out his everyday fashion exhibit.
His record was dimmed by dishonest cronies
With one thing in common, they had big cojones.
Adams’ goodbye was sealed by a deal made with Trump;
Had he remained home, Claus would have dropped off a lump.
 
For former mayors:
Santa remembered gifts left ’neath past mayors’ trees:
A Prospect Y gym pass to adorn BdB’s;
Nothing for Bloomie—he had all he needed;
Anger control warnings Rudy unheeded;
Tennis white shorts Dinkins would look like new in;
A scorebook telling Koch how he was doin’.
 
For faithful civil servants:
St. Nick beamed for those who keep New York running,
Who do upright work, unsung without cunning.
In every job title, in every condition,
The public good is their hon’rable full-time mission.
Upholding the banner of orange and blue,
Santa’s uplifting peeps, “Merry Christmas to you.”
 
Chatgpt as told to Fred Smith, who retired as an administrative analyst for the NYC public school system.
 
Last year I missed Fred's missive probably due to chemo brain. He did not do his usual xmas but an election pre-quel in Sept that did not turn out exactly as he wished. He shoulda used AI then.
 
The Weeks Before Christmas
  by Fred Smith – September 16, 2024
The days are swift passing until it’s December,
But Christmas will dawn on the 5th of November.
Two months ‘fore Election Day and throughout the land
Joy has been stirring, hopeful relief near at hand.

As late as July, there was a sense of despair.
Optimism was fading and breathing foul air.
Then Biden withdrew; ‘twas all of a sudden.
Harris stepped up, and light started to flood in.

Cheerful Kamala smiled without missing a beat,
Catching a bone-spurred bully off guard on flat feet.
She’s a Black-Asian woman who married a Jew.
See your priest or your rabbi if that troubles you.

So, Karma took over when Joe lost a debate;
Poetic justice, at last, dictating Trump’s fate.
Running strong against Donald whose gospel is hate,
Whose bloody rage keeps him in a constant red state.

She picked as her running mate, Governor Walz,
A true everyman, who responds to all calls.
When fast off they flew to swing states and rallied,
As Trump more and more scowled and dilly dallied.

He who had chosen JD Vance as his veep,
Whose obeisance displayed how much he’s a creep.
A wide-eyed senator dreaming on his love couch;
A perfect match partner for the impious grouch.
And as Grumpy campaigns with his sidekick Goofy,
This ragged tag team has been double down doofy.

Years back, there were signs Trump was non compos mentis,
Strutting ruthlessness skills on the Apprentice,
Firing everyone at his ultimate whim
With unchecked power reserved only to him.

And twenty years ere that reality show,
Wayne Barrett mapped the deets of Donald’s M.O.:
His deep-seated racism; the shield of Roy Cohn;
Dirty dealing and cheating, these all were well known.
This self-proclaimed titan whose casinos went bust;
A big entrepreneur no contractor could trust.

Now Trump’s mainly consumed by the size of each crowd,
Ranting in blue whale-ish suits that fit like a shroud.
Carrot-faced, his puss locked into a grimace,
Stewing up gripes in a big steamy tsimmes
That he feeds to his base in a crock full of lies,
Which he always refills with unending supplies:

About how he built walls to bar immigration
That’s turning us into a third world nation;
And why it made sense to oppose vaccination;
Or how he lowered our high rate of inflation.
Try figuring where he stands on abortions,
As he twists yes – no – maybes into contortions.

And he’s only become more misogynistic
With a baseline temper that starts at ballistic.
Who’s used the court system to dodge Judgment Day;
But like Yertle, he’s doomed to crash down the same way.

While Karismatic Harris along with the Coach
Continued to roll out, facing minor reproach.
After last month’s convention billowed their sails,
Felonious Trump pondered his choice of jails.

Then Trump and JD took their road show on tour.
We got a chance to suffer each faux pas du jour.
Effronteries and distractions almost non-stop:
Making losers at Arlington serve as a prop;
Blaming incomplete women for going bats
For not birthing children, who instead adopt cats.
And if he debated, would the show be on FOX,
With no questions allowed about man-eating sharks?

With the big DEBATE looming he put out new stuff,
Pulling ugly assertions straight out of his duff:
Haitians dining on take-out (kidnapped dogs and geese),
A claim debunked by Springfield’s Chief of Police.

And then the DEBATE—Trump unable to face her;
Harris owned this coward who’s tried to debase her.
He fumed when she treated his rallies with scorn,
And went off on killing babies once they were born.

Harris scored point after point ad infinitum.
Her words and her “looks” combined to smite him.
A minute later Trump spun that he’d won the night
But refused to give Harris a second fight.

It’s hard to keep up with the stream of offenses;
The barrage of untruths that assault our senses
With conspiracy theories that come abounding,
Each one more bizarre and beyond astounding.

Countless the lies exceeding verses and rhymes.
The volume and scope of his numerous crimes;
Perverting O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,”
Trump’s Christmas tale is, The “Grift of the MAG Guy.”
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be careful Kamala! Victory’s not in the bag
With twisted judges flying the upside-down flag,
Abetting Trump, concocting legal protections
Re the insurrection and stealing elections.

We know the one Harris Poll that counts most of all,
Is when people show up to cast ballots this fall,
And tell Donald Trump what they think of his fury.
Voters render the verdict. We are the jury.

Fred Smith retired from the New York City public school system
as an administrative analyst. His occasional poems and op-eds
have appeared in the New York Daily News and other newspapers.


 
 
 
 
Here is my post from two years ago, Dec. 25, 2023:

The Nightmare Before Christmas 2023 - Fred Smith Does it Again

December 25, 2023 --

Another year, 
another poem from Fred.
Not a lot of cheer
in a dismal year. 
But do not fear,
We have Fred's Photo with NY Jets Dancers
For us to share
--- Norm's feeble attempt at rhyme

Fred Smith has been posting his xmas messages here and elsewhere for many years. This year's message is a bit gloomy but have no fear, Fred ends with a cheer.

I first met Fred, a testing expert who used to work as a statistician for the old NYCBOE, when he contacted me about getting ICE members to assist in gathering data for his exposures of the evils of testing I think sometime around 2008. He then got involved with groups like GEM and Change the Stakes and was a co-winner with me and Danny Dromm of Leonie Haimson's Skinny Award in 2018 - (June 19 - I'm a Skinny: Honored to be honored by )

Fred Smith has done it again for 2023 with his yearly Xmas special. 

If it's Christmas, it must be Fred Smith at Ed Notes.

Here are his previous years, each with a different theme. 2019 seems to be absent.
Fred is also a statistician for the NY Jets - don't blame him for their absence from the Super Bowl for over 50 years.

Fred Smith convincing Jets dancers to boycott field tests - he's the one in the middle 

 

Posted by Norm @ at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)