Sharkbait Writes

Shedding Tears For October

October has come and gone. The ghouls, ghosts and goblins have retreated to their caves, lairs, and second dimensions. Mounds of Halloween candy begs to be eaten and dentists worldwide are rubbing their hands together because of the inevitable cavities that are certain to follow. October has been fun. Hours upon hours of scary movies on AMC, SyFy, and Chiller filled our days with chilling stories of psychopathic murderers, vengeful spirits, and hungry monsters. Serial killers such as Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger have now gone to rest until next year’s ghoulish season of the witch. Many of you are shedding tears of joy because you can finally get a decent night of sleep after endless nightmares from watching too many late night horror flicks. Others are shedding tears because… well, because someone ate the last Snickers bar in the candy bowl!

All kidding aside, I always look forward to October because it starts the beginning of cooler weather and the start of the holiday season (or unholy for those who cringe at the thought of Halloween). I have to admit I’m not a “huge” fan of Halloween (my home’s decoration consisted of a single ceramic Jack-O-Lantern and a small lighted Halloween sign) but it is fun to see how people really get into it. Plus, since I’m a fan of the horror genre, it only makes sense to like Halloween, too. This year I have had the privilege of meeting a number of horror authors that have also helped get me into the Halloween spirit; authors such as R.A. Evans, Jason McKinney, Erik Gustafson and A.J. Aalto to name a few. All four of them are very talented authors, and if you haven’t already done so, be sure to click on their names to visit their web sites.

Cooler Weather and Paranoid Turkeys

The cooler weather that usually comes along with October is a big deal for me since I live in South Texas, especially after suffering through record breaking triple digit temperatures this past summer. We have a nice cold front blowing in this week that will drop the temperatures down to a chilling upper 30s. It’s something that I welcome since I always enjoy the colder temperatures, but not enough to warrant a move up north though. The colder temperatures remind me of two things: Thanksgiving and Christmas, my two absolute favorite holidays of the year.

The passing of Halloween 2011 is also very significant for another reason… the turkeys are now running for their lives! The nightmare is just beginning for them! I can see the turkey community taking cues from Chik-fil-A and starting an “Eat More Ham” campaign. Gobble! Gobble!

A Season of Thanksgiving… and Marketing

November also sparks the beginning of a new season, a season of thanks and the official beginning of the Christmas retail marketing frenzy. We haven’t even enjoyed our Turkey dinners yet and we’re seeing commercials enticing me to buy, buy, buy! Although, now that I think about it, wouldn’t Victory Lane: The Chronicles – Pursuit of a Dream make a great addition to someone’s eBook collection this Christmas?

As we inch closer to Thanksgiving Day (okay, I know my Canadian friends have already celebrated Thanksgiving; they get to have Thanksgiving and Halloween all in the same month!), let us remember all of the things we are thankful for, even when life throws us a curveball. What is it that makes our lives such a blessing amidst the trials and tribulations of hard times and misfortune? What helps us open our eyes each and every day and say it’s a wonderful day? So, what is it that you are thankful for? What is it that gives you strength to ride the through the storm? Is it family? Is it friends? Is it God? Whatever it is remember to never forget about that, and also remember that Thanksgiving Day is just one day out of the year to remind us that we all have a lot to be thankful for. We just have to open our eyes and hearts to realize it sometimes.

I know it’s a bit early in the month to get that in depth about Thanksgiving, but honestly recent events in my life (including losing a job that I absolutely loved and a recent death in the family) have reminded me that life is too short to let any day go by without truly counting the blessings in my life. I hope you do the same.

The Turkey Apocalypse

With that said, I hope you have a wonderful day, enjoy the remainder of those sweets in the candy bowl (Save the Snickers for me!), and look out for those vigilante turkeys! It’s just a matter of time before those turkeys have had enough and decide to strike back. The nearby town of Cuero has a turkey processing plant and is also known as the “unofficial” turkey capital of the world, and after years of Turkey Fest celebrations in October it’s just a matter of time before the turkeys revolt and go on a crusade across Texas. This may very well be the last time we enjoy turkey for Thanksgiving! I know. I know. Thanksgiving without turkey? The horror!

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Cheers!