Adios, 2014 - No Need to Leave a Forwarding Address

Today, Dear Readers, is December 31st ... the last day of The Year of Our Lord 2014, or 2014 C.E. if you prefer. Maybe it's just me, but I thought 2014 was an uncommonly yucky year. It was the year that:

Russia came back with a vengeance, going from prickly quasi-ally to an aggressive, bullying reincarnation of Stalin's Soviet Union.

We learned about the beastly religious bigotry and violent perversions of the so-called "Islamic State."

A person I once trusted and loved as part of the family turned out to be a greedy, self-centered bully.

Members of Congress of both parties ... but mostly Republicans ... acted like spoiled children and made our once-respected government the laughingstock of much of the world. When the performance of your government compares unfavorably to that of Italy, there's a problem.

American voters threw their support behind a political party that demonstrably does not care about their issues and concerns.

And,

The Supreme Court improved the ability of big business and the wealthy to purchase government services and support by continuing to remove limits on the size and transparency of their donations to political parties and individual candidates.

There were a few plusses in the past year, though ... it was also the year in which:

Agnes and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary, making me thankful that, despite all temptation, she hasn't killed me yet.

Our beloved oldest grandchild, Marcy, turned into a beautiful and talented 14 year-old lady, our equally-beloved youngest grandchild, Ava, turned a delightful two, and the other four grandchildren sandwiched in between continued to grow and develop into wonderful young people.

At work, I actually managed to get three Air Force Instructions finally coordinated and published*.

My blog went over the quarter-million hits mark ... proving that (a) I have a significant number of online friends; and (b) there's no accounting for taste.

I enjoyed good health and the love of a wonderful extended family.

And finally,

I enjoyed the company of old and the pleasure of making new friends.

So, I guess that - on balance - it was an average year in which the good things balanced out the bad. Now we get to see what 2015 has in store.

I'm crossing my fingers, and so should you.

Have a good day. Party down tonight, but do it safely ... I need you all back tomorrow for the announcement of the 2014 Ass Clown of the Year, and you won't want to miss it!

More thoughts in the coming year.

Bilbo

* Trust me, it's a big deal ... it took five years to get to this point.