Challenge Yourself!

Find something to do you never thought about doing before. Not necessarily daring or dangerous. Just something new that would break the chains of sameness and personal inertia.


Write a story.
See a French New Wave movie.
Explore a lonely trail.
Listen to a new piece of music.
Volunteer for a cause.
Call an old friend or make a new one.
Reach out to the lonely.
Take a course in a new interest.
Run for an office.
Play a new sport.
Cook a delicious meal.
Take a stand.
Read a new book.

Whatever you do, realize it's a big Universe out there and waiting to be explored, awed, appreciated, and discovered in all its glory, even without visiting new planets. You may even find yourself out there somewhere, too. The world is bigger than us individually, but so is our little community as well.

Baseball Twilight

The evenings are getting colder in October, and twilight is approaching sooner, but we still have baseball to savor as the fall leaves remind us the the chill of night is coming.

The game of baseball, still referred by some as the National Pastime, has long been eclipsed by the NFL, and more recently NASCAR and MMA. It shouldn't be a surprise, as I wonder if baseball's character fits with the mood and the culture of the nation anymore.

For instance, baseball has unwritten rules about not showing up players from the other team. Call it sportsmanship, mutual respect, or old fashioned courtesy. The concept is still alive in a world of touchdown dances, showboating, and a look at me culture that wants its own reality show or viral video. Any deviation from the rule, however, could lead to close haircut from a pitcher's fastball, just to reinforce the rule.

Baseball involves subtlety, strategy, and suspense. Is the manager going to replace the pitcher, make the batter bunt, or order a double switch? In a world of 200 mph hour stock cars and the onslaught of fighters in an octagon, the nuances of baseball are less appreciated. It is still the game of tradition and respect in world of viral tweets over an iPhone.

Baseball, where the green diamond field belies the chill of autumn, the summers of memories, and a gathering of friends and hot dogs, continues.

Fear Loses Out

The world is not dictated by those in the peanut gallery constantly critiquing the doers, as if the Universe is on a comments section page for stinging barbs on those who attempt their dreams. It is, rather, for those who win if only because they overcame doubts, fear, and ridicule to do something meaningful.

Being an introvert, I have for years been reluctant to get into the arena, so to speak, for fear of failure
and mockery. The result was I was reduced to being a spectator in the passage of life. It has held me back, until ambitions finally prompted me to get out there with a positive outlook, and ready to fight.  Remember all of the fears you may have had, and where the common thread of them all was that they probably weren't as bad as you imagined the results. The real enemy was made up in your mind, and defeating you before you even started.

Ultimately, you have to set aside fears and doubts, and learn to laugh at yourself if you fail. People who criticize and laugh at you are those who in all likelihood did not have the motivation to get up and try something they always wanted to do. In any event, you will have tackled something you never tried before, maybe learned something about yourself, and broke out of the monotony of sameness. Any failure on my part is a good natured laugh at my attempt, and an appreciation of trying something I wanted to do, and the attempt is its own reward, no matter how hard the failure.

PS, regardless, that does not mean I will sing karaoke anytime soon, though! 

Enjoy the moment

Enjoy the moment.

I can remember an age before twitter, hashtags, texting, and smartphones. It was a time when people weren't constantly tethered electronically to the world.

I was entering a coffee shop one day, and spied upon a couple sitting together, and were both entranced by the cellphones: looking scrolling, texting, with earbuds
in place to guarantee no foreign sounds intrude on the little world they created. Ironic, since as a reader I always look forward to reading a newspaper when I go out for some coffee. However, I know enough to put my paper down and talk and acknowledge the person I am with. Since that episode, I have learned to put my paper down and try to appreciate the people and color surrounding me.

In a world of cacophonic noise and disruptions, there are some of us who like to seek a little respite from the teeming masses of humanity, ringtones, texts, and pressures. A quiet walk, a cup of coffee, watching kids play in a park, or a stroll down an aisle in a favorite store without the constant texting and ringtones. I have often wondered what people talk about when they seemingly do nothing but talk or text. Maybe it about they are taking about an awesome text they read. Creating your own reality than a virtual one is something I want to attain, rather than a virtual one in a Playstation.

As a result, I have sought to try new things, listen to new music, and develop more hobbies. To that end, I have written short stories, created art work, and began glider plane instruction. The world offers many thing to see and enjoy. And some quiet time is good in the end as well.

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."