Time flies when you’re having fun, they say, and even when you’re not. And the year 2008 has flown by, all except a mere handful of hours. I suspect many of us will be glad to see it go.
“May you live in interesting times.” It’s an old Chinese curse, and it seems that all of us have had plenty of interesting times to deal with this year. The subprime mortgage industry had a crisis; Wall Street and the investment banking industry had a meltdown; Bernie “Made Off With Everybody’s Money” Madoff’s multi-decade Ponzi scheme unraveled; gasoline prices skyrocketed in the wake of Hurricane Ike and then dropped like a stone; and the economy, in general, has become a Scary Place.
We in the United States made history by electing our first black President, proving that race is no longer the insurmountable barrier it once was. Neither, apparently, is the desirability of having a curriculum vitae that fills up more than a 3½ x 5" index card. But like all Presidents before him, Barack Obama will have his chance to succeed or fail. For the sake of our nation, I wish him Godspeed.
This was the year we said goodbye to our precious Matata. Thanks to the Internet, our little grey kitty had admirers around the world; their kind expressions of sympathy helped us mightily to deal with our loss. Our hearts still feel a twinge every time her image pops up on the computer monitor as our screensaver cycles through our vast inventory of digital photographs.
This was also the year of the Wonderful Japan Adventure I was able to share with Elder Daughter. Ten days in the Land of the Rising Sun was more than a mere vacation - it was a Father-Daughter Bonding Experience. I’ll always remember it fondly.
This was the year the Mistress of Sarcasm pulled out her Savannah roots and transplanted herself to Franklin, Tennessee...a full hour closer. Yay!
This was the year Yours Truly decided to get off the Corporate Merry-Go-Round. My retirement formally begins in mid-February...but not before I chew up my six weeks of paid vacation. What next? I have a few irons in the fire, and you’ll be hearing about them in the fullness of time.
And today - this very day - marks the thirty-third anniversary of the day I met She Who Must Be Obeyed for the very first time. Yes: our 33rd Meet-a-Versary! Could either of us have imagined, in our wildest fever dreams, that we would still be together...one apartment and seven houses later...with two grown daughters who daily give us reasons to beam with Parental Pride?
The Mistress of Sarcasm, She Who Must Be Obeyed, and Elder Daughter.
We will celebrate the evening with good friends, good food, and a few good glasses of Fizzy Wine. And, as interesting as the times may be, we still have much to celebrate.
To my Esteemed Readers, my friends, my family...and most of all, to my beloved SWMBO and our daughters...may you have a healthy, happy, and safe 2009, without limit to any good thing.
“May you live in interesting times.” It’s an old Chinese curse, and it seems that all of us have had plenty of interesting times to deal with this year. The subprime mortgage industry had a crisis; Wall Street and the investment banking industry had a meltdown; Bernie “Made Off With Everybody’s Money” Madoff’s multi-decade Ponzi scheme unraveled; gasoline prices skyrocketed in the wake of Hurricane Ike and then dropped like a stone; and the economy, in general, has become a Scary Place.
We in the United States made history by electing our first black President, proving that race is no longer the insurmountable barrier it once was. Neither, apparently, is the desirability of having a curriculum vitae that fills up more than a 3½ x 5" index card. But like all Presidents before him, Barack Obama will have his chance to succeed or fail. For the sake of our nation, I wish him Godspeed.
This was the year we said goodbye to our precious Matata. Thanks to the Internet, our little grey kitty had admirers around the world; their kind expressions of sympathy helped us mightily to deal with our loss. Our hearts still feel a twinge every time her image pops up on the computer monitor as our screensaver cycles through our vast inventory of digital photographs.
This was also the year of the Wonderful Japan Adventure I was able to share with Elder Daughter. Ten days in the Land of the Rising Sun was more than a mere vacation - it was a Father-Daughter Bonding Experience. I’ll always remember it fondly.
This was the year the Mistress of Sarcasm pulled out her Savannah roots and transplanted herself to Franklin, Tennessee...a full hour closer. Yay!
This was the year Yours Truly decided to get off the Corporate Merry-Go-Round. My retirement formally begins in mid-February...but not before I chew up my six weeks of paid vacation. What next? I have a few irons in the fire, and you’ll be hearing about them in the fullness of time.
And today - this very day - marks the thirty-third anniversary of the day I met She Who Must Be Obeyed for the very first time. Yes: our 33rd Meet-a-Versary! Could either of us have imagined, in our wildest fever dreams, that we would still be together...one apartment and seven houses later...with two grown daughters who daily give us reasons to beam with Parental Pride?
The Mistress of Sarcasm, She Who Must Be Obeyed, and Elder Daughter.
We will celebrate the evening with good friends, good food, and a few good glasses of Fizzy Wine. And, as interesting as the times may be, we still have much to celebrate.
To my Esteemed Readers, my friends, my family...and most of all, to my beloved SWMBO and our daughters...may you have a healthy, happy, and safe 2009, without limit to any good thing.
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