A New Year

Today as I prepared to go to work I sat in a hand carved thrown chair personally carried from Bolivia and regulated to my laundry room.  It has a red velvet pillow, lions feet for hand rests and a high carved back.  It sits next to my washer and dryer and is really quite regal.  I reached for a worn pair of brown leather shoes and cinched the laces tightly.  I buttoned myself up in a coat and prepared to meet the cold weather out side.  It is January 2011, a new year has arrived and carries with it all the promise that was never reached in 2010.

New Years always amazes me.  People make resolutions, promises and pledges.  With the changing date there is a perception that a page has been turned in the book of life.  The new page is simply blank, not tarnished by words or finger prints, not soiled by oil or drops of food.   It is a page yet to be written. 

This year will bring new challenges.  It will usher in new promise and for a neighbor of mine who just lost her new husband to pancreatic cancer, has already brought new pain.  The frame work is already taking shape.  In May I will meet my best friends in Las Vegas.  In July I will begin a 3 week budget busting odyssey to the Philippines that will require 28 hour flights and endless relatives of my wife's examining me and reminding me that I am older, balder and more fat.  I will become a year older and in a small way, like sand slipping through the center of an hour glass feel my life slipping away. 

Like most people I will endeavor to reduce my 'panza' or at the very least hold the line.  I will try to write more and spend more time with those I love.  I will try to cook more and make healthy food and I will work as hard as I can to pay down my debt.

I have a tradition on New Years Eve.  I have faithfully carried it out almost every year with few exceptions.  Every year I miss it all. I go to sleep around ten and let my dreams carry me away.  No champagne, no falling ball in times square.  No fireworks exploding in the air causing birds to fall from the sky like droplets of rain.  After all, the truth is, when I wake up and welcome the New Year I will still be wearing the same old brown shoes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment. I love to hear from anyone that reads what I write.

Popular posts from this blog

The Inevitability of Decline

Image
  As you age everyday is a mystery.  In the morning you wake up and like a computer booting up do a systems check.  Knee working, back not hurting, headache nope feel fresh, urinary system functioning, the list goes on… everything okay… check… it’s going to be a good day.  Then the morning routine kicks in.  A handful of pills and a cup of coffee.   Salvador Dali At some point there is a certain realization that nothing will ever get better.  When you have a car you can at least buy a new set of tires.  There is a good chance that they will work as good as the original ones if not better.  Every time I have to replace some part of my house I always ask the service man how this new version of whatever I had will make my life better.  Typically they will shrug and give me a look that says, “Just wait for the bill.”  Sometimes, not to be defeated, I will pore over the service manual or promotional material and relish the smallest detail.  I definitely did this when I had to spend 13,00
Read more

Pornography, Childhood and the Great War

Image
  Navarone Playset When I was a young boy in the 1970’s, my  dominion was the carpet.  Between its 70’s shag fibers thousands of battles took place as my soldiers spread out in endless formations.  Bit by bit my mother’s Kirby vacuum would suck up small pieces of them.  Guns, knives, hats and scarves.  All would disappear in due course.  I treasu red my toy soldiers.   From America I had knights, cowboys, Indians and Civil War soldiers.    Green army men who would occasionally do battle against the prized Nazi’s a young friend of mine had.   His name was Shane,  and he had the best toy sets usually obtained at Christmas.   My favorite was a small mountain fortress with cannons sticking out posing as the fortress in the film "The Gun’s of Navarone."   He also had an Alamo play set filled with Mexicans and Texans.   Hamley's Regent Streat, London One Christmas morning in Alaska I awoke to find a giant playset my father had created for me.  Ever the architect he had constr
Read more

Young Become Old and the Old Become Younger

Image
The beautiful and intelligent Sanna Marin Former Prime minister of Finland There is a curious thing that happens as we age, the old become young and the young become older.  I know this seems odd, please allow me to explain.  When we are young we look up to those we understand.  Those that seem within reach.  Often they are young athletes or celebrities.  They are the idols that we hold and we admire their talent, ability and perhaps wisdom.  Suddenly, one day not so late in our lives a curious thing happens, our age surpasses them.  One day we turn on the television and that sports idol is suddenly younger then us.  With each passing day they look more and more like children. The aged warmonger and bringer of death  Vladimir Putin (Wikipedia) As we progress through life we look at those older than us as the sources of wisdom and guidance.  They are the echos of thought and life experience that we trust.  We look to them for advice and in the world around us, seek their steady hand t
Read more