merry-christmas-from-with-leatherThat’s me, circa age four, standing in front of one of the tackiest looking Christmas trees on record. Yes, I’m wearing elastic jeans. Yes, I still have that haircut. Yes, I’m holding one of the Shirt Tales, and yes, I’m really that old.

I haven’t been the editor of With Leather very long, but around this time of year I turn into a Counting Crows-style winter mess and feel the need to emotionally spill myself on everyone. Saturday is Christmas Eve and Sunday is Christmas so we won’t be missing any updates, but this is my last chance to say how badly I want you to have a happy weekend (religion be damned) and how much I appreciate you sticking around with Zerkle left and you got stuck with a wordy pussy vegan as your sports guy. It means the world to me to get to do this, and it’s sorta my present every time I get up too early and get pissed when I’m not in your time zone.

Big Merry Christmas and/or other December-centric holiday wishes go out to Burnsy (who is so good at this it emasculates me on the reg … I absolutely could not do this without you), Brian and Jarret (for giving me a shot in the first place), Josh Z (for letting me fill your shoes), Matt Ufford (for being nice enough to say “hey, you should let this guy write here” when AOL fired everybody out of nowhere and I was gonna have to wait tables for a living again) and the rest of the UPROXX family. I’ve had the honor of writing at UPROXX.com, Warming Glow and Gamma Squad in addition to WL this year and every turn has been the most fun.

And yeah, that’s enough of me. If you’re traveling this weekend, be safe. I need you to stay alive because I love you, and because I desperately need your page views. Merry Christmas, everybody.