Thank you all!

Just a thank you to all the readers out there who may be lurking out there. 2014 I hope to get more traffic by optimizing my page, and I hope for bigger things for the "Night Watch!" Checking my traffic, I noticed viewers from Alaska to Germany, so it's nice to be gaining attention outside the Lower 48 states and overseas. Here is a synopsis of my plans for this year.

I hope to have, through CafePress, Night Watch merchandise: t-shirts, cups, caps, and the like. Please email me with your thoughts of what kind of merchandise you would like to buy. The "Night Watch" can become an exclusive online community!

Advertising. I hope to attract advertisers for the page as it (hopefully!) gains a larger  and targeted audience.

A Youtube channel, where I will post musings of events and ideas, and solicit feedback.

Feedback. For all you Night Watch fans, please drop me an email or Skype, as I would love to hear from all of you. My Twitter handle is Freemason48, and I am on Blogtalk radio at Politics Central.

Social Media Rules

I came to the social media world rather late, thinking such sites as the purview of teenagers. As social media became more mainstream with older groups, I finally joined. Okay, first it was MySpace, but then I joined Facebook, Tumblr, and LinkedIn. However, there some basic rules I wish users would abide by, such as:

One:  context. Posts such as "Feeling blue today" should provide some more information.

Two: No text spelling. I think the cousin of LOL is the social media version the guy who thinks he's funny because he ends a sentence with "TMI", or "That's what she said."

Three: Limit the number of game requests. Whenever I see a red message box on Facebook, I think it could be an important message, only to find a Mafia Wars request for the third time that day. If I want to play games, I'll play Pac man. As a corollary, if you haven't seen someone in twenty years, a friendly message would be great, instead of the first contact being to play Candy Crush.

Four: Reposts of motivational messages (repost this if you love your country, as if patriotism is defined by reposting a message). It's the 21st Century version of the chain letter, and just as annoying, but with much less trees killed for it.

Fifth: personal issues portrayed in wall posts.

Sixth: your picture should be the photo people see beside your name, not your cat, dog, parakeet, or your 6th grade picture (it IS called Facebook for a reason).

Seventh: Context. Please no more cryptic messages, i.e.., "Wonder what tomorrow will bring? Sigh!") that leave everyone guessing and hanging on to find answers, and in some cases unduly worry them.

Eighth: no constant advertising your weight loss/energy drink multi level marketing business. One person did so by constantly posing in a bikini and went from being attractive to becoming a show off. Now, I have ny own cleaning supply business, but keep the ads down at a minimum. If you want to advertise, get your own website. 

Tom and Santa

One day, not long after Halloween, Santa Claus came a upon Tom Turkey at the Holiday Central headquarters, and who seemed very glum. "What's wrong, Tom?," asked Santa. "Well, if you must know, this is supposed to be my time of year, Santa. But it seems your holiday is pushing me out completely."

"How so?" inquired Santa.

"Well, it's barely November, and already I see Christmas lights and tinsel put up, not to mention little trees. What do you have to mark my holiday? Pilgrim hats and a horn 'o plenty of corn. Not very festive, I must say.

"Well, you do have a lot of turkey decorations of yourself."

"Look, Santa, at all the music you have for your holiday about you: coming to town, reindeer, and watching everybody who's being good and bad. Even Halloween has some great music for itself, like the "Monster Mash". Pretty soon even Arbor Day will get more respect than me."

"Never going to happen, Tom. Arbor Day doesn't even have a character to represent them. Besides, people would rather look forward to a delicious meal of potatoes, pie, and tur-,  ahem, uh, stuffing, than plant trees.

"Yes, point taken, Santa. Well, anyway, that's why people can hardly wait to get my head on the chopping block, stuff me, and to eat me with cranberries. I'm like the Rodney Dangerfield of holidays. You, on the other hand, get milk and cookies everywhere you go. No wonder you're so jolly all the time. With all that, can't people let me enjoy my holiday a little more. Now, all Thanksgiving day is a time to start Midnight Madness sales at department stores. Now all of the malls are being hung with stockings and tinsel, elves placed everywhere, and store employees that can't enjoy my day to get ready for yours, which is a month away. Sometimes I think being chased with an ax in the farmyard isn't so bad. At least I get some attention."

"I'm sorry about that, Tom. Even though the Three Wise Men started it, I usually get the credit for the whole gift giving tradition, I agree something is lost in the rush of buying plasma TV's's and Xbox's, though. It used to be about being with family, togetherness, appreciating what you have, helping your neighbor, and the joy of the giving of a gift in itself, with nothing expected in return."

"Thanks, Santa. Presents are your bread and butter, so that's thoughtful of you to say."

"Well, Tom, even I have competition now. I used to deliver hand made toys from my workshop with my Elves. Toys made by hand with love and that would played with imagination. Now everything is about video games and movies where people are killing one another. I remember when people would get together and sing Christmas carols around the neighborhood. The Spirit of Christmas was about community than just  tinsel, lights, and displays of sleighs and deer."

"I get you, Santa. My holiday is supposed to about the Pilgrims who came to America in a leaky ship and were saved by the Indians from starvation. The courage that took to make the trip for religious freedom, and the coming together of the two cultures for a meal of thanks is also being forgotten over football games."

"I guess there are things that both are holidays share: love, family, peace, and reconciliation. Still, can you overlook the fact the Pilgrims ate your fore fathers?," chuckled Santa.

"Funny, Santa. I think I'll let you get back to your workshop. Maybe I'll just hire a PR agent, start a blog, or star in a reality show to get noticed like everybody else these days."

"Good luck, my friend, best of good tidings to you, and have a happy Thanksgiving."

"And merry Christmas, to you to Santa."

As the friends parted, Tom could see a lone figure in the shadow outlined in a robe. As he came closer, he could see the locks and beard on the man, as well as scars and blood on him. As Tom approached, the man spoke knowingly with a tinge of sadness: " I know how you feel Tom. More people today forget my birthday and what it really means, too, which are the greatest gifts one could receive: love and everlasting life."