Welcome back to the countdown of The Things That Need to Come Back in 2021. This is Part Two of our list, where I will go over items 15-1. This is our list of the things,trends,and everything else that needs to return in the new year.

Disclaimer: Just like the Things That Need to Go list, this list is for entertainment purposes and is meant to be taken semi-seriously, so keep that in mind when you read the list. We’re just trying to have fun here!

Without further adieu, here’s #15!

15. Tamagotchis

Many ’90s kids will remember these handheld digital pets and they were all the rage back then. Well, if we’re lobbying for POGs to come back,why not these? 

These were pretty neat back in the day and for kids who weren’t allowed to have real life pets, I think this was a way they could actually have one. I think if you incorporated these into a smart watch perhaps it would work and I think the technology would be easy in regards to making this work. Come on Apple, make it happen!

14.CATCH-ALL: Beloved Taco Bell items like the 7-Layer Burrito and the Mexican Pizza

This has not been a banner year for Taco Bell, even during a pandemic. First,the 7-Layer Burrito left the menu over the summer after a quarter-century of staying there then the Mexican Pizza left us early last month after being there virtually my entire life. Now there’s fewer and fewer reasons to go to Taco Bell because of the elimination of so many great items that people enjoyed. Even I have not gone as much as I did because of menus that have been scratched away. I have an idea, how about bringing the above mentioned items back to the menu? Why stop there? Bring back the Quesarito and the Grilled Stuft Burrito for my friend Tim. It’s time we stop driving people away and start bringing them back. Yo Quiero Taco Bell items!

13. Politicians with ideas

There are so many people who get elected and they do so based on nothing. So many of them have no ideas and instead run on platitudes and cliches. No,not as much as they used to because voters are catching on to them and realizing so many are full of it and aren’t interested in helping them, but nonetheless these empty politicians are still winning. I say we start electing people with bold ideas that we want implemented and to do the will of the people. Remember, these folks work for us and if they aren’t doing what we want, we have to force them to do it.

I don’t know about you, but someone who isn’t making progress and giving us what we need doesn’t need to be in office much longer. I get that nothing worth doing is ever easy, but when is enough enough? We are getting nowhere with most of the people in office now and I’m tired of the excuses for why we never get significant change in this country. It’s time we vote many of these people out and insert those who will work for us instead of the rich and the powerful,especially now!

12. Faces without masks

There are many things I have missed about our current time and seeing people without masks on is one of them. Sure, we don’t have to wear them all the time, but for me when I am at work,it’s a must and as a result I don’t get to see my coworkers’ faces most of the time. I’m beginning to forget what they look like without the masks on. I would love to live in a world very soon where these things aren’t so commonplace and I hope we live in that world again because I miss seeing everyone’s face without the mask on. Plus, it’s hard to see with these things on when you wear glasses like myself, so yeah, let’s get back to that!

11. Disney bricks

This item is more for me than anyone and I will explain why.

In the esplanade of Disneyland (the area between Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure) they have commemorative bricks with people’s names on them and there are other tiles that are blank and years ago Disney sold bricks to people and now they no longer do that. Hello? I will definitely buy one of those bricks that are blank and slap my name on that. How much you want? $200? $300? $500? Name your price,fam!

If Disney ever made it possible for more of those bricks to have people’s names on them, you bet I would snatch one up and I know other friends of mine would as well! Make them available,Disney! I know you would make some of that money back that we didn’t get to spend at the park this year. 

10. Humans answering telephones

I don’t know about you,but I get sick of having a machine answer a telephone when I call anyplace,anywhere. Remember when that task was left to humans? I truly miss t hat. I shouldn’t have to wait several minutes to talk with a real live human being. I waited an hour the other night just to speak to someone on the phone for something very important. An hour! Unacceptable. We need to get real people on the phone with us again and right when we call,too.

9. Sports with fans

So, you’re probably thinking “Isn’t this back already?”, well it is,but it isn’t. Some areas of our country are allowing fans to return to games,but here in California we are not allowed to have that kinda fun back yet,but we sure would like to. 

I was truly planning on going to games again after a long time of not having done so and those plans were washed away entirely. I would love to attend a sporting event again and not with a sparse crowd, but rather with everybody and without a mask on. I know a lot of folks who would like just that as well and I do hope that can happen again sometime soon. Sports without fans has been pretty empty if you ask me and I think the players would agree when they’re playing in empty stadiums full of lifeless cardboard cutouts in place of hardcore sports fans like you and me. We deserve to be there more than those cutouts do and I hope we get our rightful places in the stands back.

8. Free speech on social media

I know this item is a little controversial, but there are and have been times where people have been censored or put in social media jail when they shouldn’t have been in the first place. While it is true that freedom of speech does not excuse anyone from freedom from consequences, there are times where the punishment does not fit the crime. I think we’ve overcorrected the problem when it comes to policing social media and I think we need to treat these outlets like public utilities and we need to bring back free speech on these outlets that isn’t hate speech or bullying or even qualifies as such. Just because it’s speech you don’t like doesn’t make it hate speech.

7. The Miami Dolphins retro uniforms

Though they do wear them a few times a season, it is time these uniforms were made the full-time uniforms of the Miami Dolphins.

I think many agree that the current logo of the team is awful. I’ve often commented that it looks like the regretted tramp stamp of a 17-year-old girl with daddy issues. Also,the animal isn’t wearing the helmet like it used to. When they throw it back, the uniforms are more colorful and bold and are really what they should have been wearing all along. Stephen Ross,if you’re reading this, you need to make this the full time look of your team. Ditch the tramp stamp and bring back the dolphin wearing a helmet logo, it’s your team’s heritage and it’s time to embrace it!

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6. The pandemic response team

This absolutely needs to make the list because had our idiot-in-chief not broken them up two years ago, we may be in better shape than we are right now with this pandemic and in response to that, we need to bring the response team back so that nobody has to suffer through this kind of hell ever again. Make no mistake about it, next to nobody has handled this crisis well, but I think had we still had this response team intact we would’ve been much better off because they would’ve led the way in how to handle this. Let’s get them back in here!

5. Disneyland

I think the thing that will make me think that this terrible time in our lives is over is hearing or seeing these three words strung together: Disneyland is reopened!

If that can happen for me and all who love this magical place, I think we’ll know for sure that the worst is behind us. I last went to the actual park in January and it has been closed since March. I miss that place everyday and the longer it’s closed, the more I worry that it may never reopen. I know it’s silly to think that,but when so much is and has been uncertain, you tend to think the times we’re in are a forever thing. Disneyland,for me, is a place I can go to get a sense of happiness in my life. Instead, I haven’t been as happy and until they open the gates to our land, it’s not going to be as happy of a life going forward.

Disneyland’s reopening will be my barometer of measuring when all is well again in my world,and even yours. Until then, life just really sucks!

4. CATCH-ALL: Gatherings with friends and family,carnivals,weddings you can attend in person, birthday parties,going to the movies, indoor restaurants, barbecues,etc.

This is probably the biggest catch-all I have ever done,but it’s warranted and you guys get the point. We never get to see each other anymore in person and for a lot of us it’s been depressing and soul crushing. I long for the days when we were able to gather at various events and celebrations. It saddens me to know that so many get-togethers we had before all of this were canceled and I often wonder when or even if I’ll see any of my friends again. I want to do all of these things again with the folks I love and  care about and then some. I truly hope these events happen again one day.

3. The American dream

This has made the list before and I felt it needed to again because this is becoming harder and harder to reach for most people and beyond that, becoming less and less of a reality. Rich people are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking and the poor are getting poorer. 

This is unacceptable and something needs to be done about it. We need to implement things like universal healthcare, free college, let’s end the wars we’ve forever been in, let’s upgrade our infrastructure. Let’s start taking care of our own at home. When other countries are doing much better things than we are and we’re supposed to be the best country on earth, it’s upsetting and disappointing. By making the things above a reality, it opens up more avenues for people to be able to do things like afford to buy a home and have children and be financially stable, not living paycheck to paycheck like they are now if they’re lucky to have a job at this time.

2. Hugs

While I have had the chance to hug friends and coworkers during this time, it’s my family I never get to hug anymore. The people I want to hug most are my young nieces who I have the rarest of chances to see and I can’t get very close to them. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to not just myself,but other members of my family that such an event doesn’t happen anymore. I hope this happens again someday, but I’m not sure if it will. 

1. Doing the right thing

This is my number one for a variety of reasons, but it’s mainly because in this year more than any other year, I have not seen people fail to do the right thing more than I am seeing it now. From not accepting that their dear leader lost to not wearing a mask to even our government not doing enough to help its own people, the right thing seems to be the hardest to do for a lot of people and it is pretty sad and even disgusting. I think it’s time we stop taking a side and come together to do the right thing when it’s asked of us. I don’t care who you are or what side you’re on, doing the right thing is what needs to be done in the short term and even the long run when it comes to the times we’re in. We should have been out of this by now and because so many are reluctant to do what’s right, it’s why we are where we are and it’s really embarrassing that this is still going on with no end in sight anytime soon.