Ashley, you're right, that is simply genius!  Thank you.

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS; AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

Jackie
AF7KG

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ashley Bernard" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 24, 2014 9:47 AM
Subject: Fwd: Happy Holidays and a SAFE New Year


> Because this is absolutely genius, marry christmas from massachusetts.
> 
> 
>> Begin forwarded message:
>> 
>> Date: December 24, 2014 at 12:09:53 PM EST
>> Subject: Happy Holidays and a SAFE New Year
>> 
>> T'was the night before Christmas,
>> And all through two-meters, 
>> Not a signal was keying up
>> Any repeaters.
>> 
>> The antennas reached up
>> From the tower, quite high, 
>> To catch the weak signals
>> That bounced from the sky.
>> 
>> The children, Tech-Pluses, 
>> Took their HTs to bed, 
>> And dreamed of the day
>> They'd be Extras, instead.
>> 
>> Mom put on her headphones, 
>> I plugged in the key, 
>> And we tuned 40 meters
>> For that rare ZK3.
>> 
>> When the meter was pegged
>> by a signal with power. 
>> It smoked a small diode, 
>> and, I swear, shook the tower.
>> 
>> Mom yanked off her phones, 
>> And with all she could muster
>> Logged a spot of the signal
>> On the DX Packet Cluster,
>> 
>> While I ran to the window
>> And peered up at the sky, 
>> To see what could generate
>> RF that high.
>> 
>> It was way in the distance, 
>> But the moon made it gleam -
>> A flying sleigh, with an
>> Eight element beam,
>> 
>> And a little old driver
>> who looked slightly mean. 
>> So I though for a moment, 
>> That it might be Wayne Green.
>> 
>> But no, it was Santa
>> The Santa of Hams. 
>> On a mission, this Christmas
>> To clean up the bands.
>> 
>> He circled the tower, 
>> Then stopped in his track, 
>> And he slid down the coax
>> Right into the shack.
>> 
>> While Mom and I hid
>> Behind stacks of CQ, 
>> This Santa of hamming
>> Knew just what to do.
>> 
>> He cleared off the shack desk
>> Of paper and parts, 
>> And filled out all my late QSLs
>> For a start.
>> 
>> He ran copper braid, 
>> Took a steel rod and pounded
>> It into the earth, till
>> The station was grounded.
>> 
>> He tightened loose fittings, 
>> Re-soldered connections, 
>> Cranked down modulation, 
>> Installed lightning protection.
>> 
>> He neutralized tubes
>> In my linear amp...
>> 
>> (Never worked right before --
>> Now it works like a champ).
>> 
>> A new, low-pass filter
>> Cleaned up the TV, 
>> He corrected the settings
>> In my TNC.
>> 
>> He repaired the computer
>> That would not compute, 
>> And he backed up the hard drive
>> And got it to boot.
>> 
>> Then, he reached really deep
>> In the bag that he brought, 
>> And he pulled out a big box, 
>> "A new rig?" I thought!
>> 
>> "A new Kenwood? An Icom? 
>> A Yaesu, for me?!" 
>> (If he thought I'd been bad
>> it might be QRP!)
>> 
>> Yes! The Ultimate Station! 
>> How could I deserve this? 
>> Could it be all those hours
>> that I worked Public Service?
>> 
>> He hooked it all up
>> And in record time, quickly
>> Worked 100 countries, 
>> All down on 160.
>> 
>> I should have been happy, 
>> It was my call he sent, 
>> But the cards and the postage
>> Will cost two month's rent!
>> 
>> He made final adjustments, 
>> And left a card by the key: 
>> "To Gary, from Santa Claus. 
>> Seventy-Three."
>> 
>> Then he grabbed his HT, 
>> Looked me straight in the eye, 
>> Punched a code on the pad, 
>> And was gone - no good bye.
>> 
>> I ran back to the station, 
>> And the pile-up was big, 
>> But a card from St. Nick
>> Would be worth my new rig.
>> 
>> Oh, too late, for his final
>> came over the air. 
>> It was copied all over. 
>> It was heard everywhere.
>> 
>> The Ham's Santa exclaimed
>> What a ham might expect, 
>> "Merry Christmas to all, 
>> And to all, good DX."
>> 
>>