Another Zweibelmas has come and gone. I wish I could say that it was the most joyous one yet, but, sadly, I cannot. And it is not because Zweibelmas-Day, Sept. 21, coincided with some Jew holiday. My disappointment stems from the fact that, in recent years, Zweibelmas has become increasingly commercial, and the American public has lost sight of the true meaning of the holiday.
As you no doubt know, every Zweibelmas-Eve, the Fairy Zweibel-Child, believed to be the spirit of my still-born infant twin Y. Josiah, arises from the Zweibel family mausoleum to deliver toys and candy to myself.
True, the acquisition of sundries is a key tradition of Zweibelmas, and I cannot fault the fathers and mothers of the Republic for braving aggressive crowds at the dry-goods proprietorships to get their hands on a coveted Zweibelmas toy for their little shavers, such as a top or Uncle Sam mechanical-bank. As a plutocrat and robber-baron, I have long held the dollar in far greater esteem than the welfare of the masses. All the same, I must assert that there is far more meaning to Zweibelmas than simple material gain. The real objective of Zweibelmas is not to award one another with gaily wrapped trifles, but rather to honor, cherish and celebrate all things Zweibel.
So next Zweibelmas-Day, as you are about to enjoy your traditional Zweibelmas dinner of goose gizzards and blood-pudding, pause to consider for a moment what this world would be like with nary a Zweibel walking upon its face:
The Great Republic of the United-States would stop at the Wabash River, and those out-side it would speak Chinee.
The gentle-men of the Republic would still fasten their celluloid collars with four collar-buttons. (Thanks to my unrelenting pressure on the sartorial trade in the mid-1890s, men were spared this oppressive style and, to this day, fasten their collars with only two buttons.)
Every-one would earn a decent wage, with insurance for their health, and own a home with heat and running-water.
Most important, there would be no Onion, the greatest source of news-worthy items in the Republic. You’d have to get your news from Grit, and that would be a pity.
T. Herman Zweibel, the great grandson of Onion founder Friedrich Siegfried Zweibel, was born in 1868, became editor of The Onion at age 20, and persisted in various editorial posts until his launching into space in 2001. Zweibel’s name became synonymous with American business success in the 20th century. Many consider him the “Father Of American Journalism,” also the title of his well-known 1943 biography, written by Norman Rombauer.
