NORAD & The US Govt. Save Christmas

Published on December 24, 2005 By Zoomba In Humor

I'm sure by this point; most people have heard of the webpage that NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) puts up in conjunction with volunteers from around the country that tracks Santa Claus on his mad dash around the globe. It's got funny little videos, a map that updates throughout the day with where Santa's already been etc. It's a ton of fun and kids love it.

http://www.noradsanta.org/

Well, sometimes, it's just something like this that can keep a kid believing in Santa for at least one more years.

Last year, my parents had their neighbors and their two little girls over for Christmas Eve dinner. The oldest is around 8 or so and is starting to get wise to the whole Santa thing and of course was trying to ruin it for her 4yr old sister, trying to impart the wisdom coming from age and all that (ok, she's just a little shit that likes to ruin stuff for her sister).

Well, the older one decides she's going to out the Santa thing once and for all... She knows she can't ask her parents or mine cause, well, parents lie. Me however, while I am old (23 appears old to an 8yr old), I'm not a parent so there's a chance to get truth out of me. So, she asks me all defiantly, in front of her sister who is hanging on every word she says, "Mike, YOU don't believe in Santa, do you?" (With heavy kind of sarcastic-ish tone). Now, the youngest is focused on me, waiting for the moment of truth... will Santa be outted for a fraud, or will he be confirmed as real?

Since the eldest had been making "Santa's not real" comments all through dinner, I was sort of waiting for this. Without even looking up from my food, I simply said, "Of course I do" and kept eating as if nothing had happened. No sugary over-the-top "Of coouuuursssseeee... How could you not believe in Saaaaannnnnttaaaa" I've seen other adults do when confronted (as if kids can't tell when they're being bullshitted when you use that tone). I said it matter-of-fact and acted as if that closed the discussion.

Well, the youngest took that as the final proof. Mike said so, he wouldn't lie, and therefore there is a Santa. The eldest however still wasn't satisfied. So, she challenged with "Prove it!" Ok I told her, I'd prove it. Oh, she thought she finally had me, but I didn't even blink. I took it in stride as if she was asking me to prove that grass is green or something equally obvious.

I go upstairs and get my laptop.

So, I ask her how much she knows about the US Govt and the military. She says she knows all about them, so I tell her a bit about NORAD and how they use satellites to track all sorts of stuff from missiles, to airplanes and anything else that flies in the sky. They track it to keep us safe from all the bad guys in the world. I show her the NORAD website to build my credibility. Then I ask her (and her sister) if she knew that NORAD, the same guys who track missiles and airplanes also track Santa as he flies around the world. That they work with Canada, England and other allies in Europe and the rest of the world to track Santa via radar on Christmas Eve.

Of course she didn't believe me, so I pulled up the NORAD Santa Tracker. Her faith in what she knew was badly shaken at this point. I turn the computer over and she starts clicking around and reading aloud to her little sister who is completely absorbed in the whole ordeal now. By the end of it, they had watched the videos, clicked on the map, looked at the clock and done some math to figure out how much time they had left.

By the end of the night, both little girls were tugging on Daddy's sleeve saying they HAD to go home and go to bed NOW before Santa came! There was such urgency that they practically ran out the door.

I doubt the same thing would work this year, but last year, NORAD and the US Govt. saved Christmas for them

Comments

Dr Guy

on Dec 24, 2005

What a great story! You are the Zoomba! Thanks for this one especially and have a great Merry Christmas!

Zoomba

on Dec 24, 2005

Merry Christmas to you too Doc! Hope it's a good one!

pseudosoldier

on Dec 24, 2005

That was a great story. Thank you for sharing it... Merry Christmas.

BlueDev

on Dec 24, 2005

Great story Zoomba. I love playing along with the kids. We have been checking it all day and the kids have loved it.

AvantiTexan

on Dec 25, 2005

Awesome story, Zoomba! Kids are great this time of year, but there are always those on the edge of leaving the magic. Nice save!

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