2003: The Year of the Blog
Images from the Year that Was: For many this December 31 will bring a somber reackoning--so many losses and raw, unhealed wounds from all over the world. And in our own little microcosm, a litany of unfulfilled dreams and heart-wrenching passings. We have many friends who will lick the envelope on the year, file it away and hope for something brighter as the days lengthen.
Me...I can't complain; 2003 has been a blessing, a year of creative flourishing and deep contentment. Here are some scenes from a very good year:
1. Hey, World Wide Web, pay attention to ME! I've got a blog. Pause. Hey. I'm here. Pause. HEY! So shoot me for being a late adopter. Pause. Do I have to strip naked and dance atop my desk to get any action? Dramatic pause. Oh, you mean I've got to become part of a community? Post pictures? Write others? Hmmmmm.
2. Cleaning the inside of our kitchen cabinets about 1,000 times as we plod through various stages of remodeling. Current status: Gorgeous, but desperately in need of a new floor. (Honey, did you catch the hint?)
3. Airspace over Alpina, Michigan. The stiffling interior of a commuter turbo-prop in major turbulence. Seat partner, a WWII veteran who neglected to bathe regaling me with fascinating tales of training in a B-52.
He shook his head, "We'd just pass the bucket up and down the rows. Some guys just didn't have the stomach for it."
Me: "Excuse me, do you think you might have one of those little bags in your seat pocket?"
Him: "C'mon, it's not that bad. Just don't think about it."
Me (puking my guts out): "I'm one of those guys."
It was my birthday.
4. A noted Russian knitting instructor teaching me a common phrase Russians use when friends stay the night. Loosely translated: "How you sleep? How you shit?"
5. The sight of Lake Superior late in the day, waves lapping against a sandy beach. My colleague and I marvelling that we're on the shores of Gitche Gumee. Because we're from the interior West where water is rare, we're stunned. "Big," I say. "Big," Charlotte agrees.
6. Mitch retrieving baked goods out of his suitcase, looking slightly obsessed. "You can get a muffin in New York for $1.25 and they're the size of softballs!" We ate knishes, bagels, scones and babka for days.
7. Travelling to New York twice, and loving every piece of gum I had to scrape off my shoes after long, amazed walks. What a great town!
8.
9. Seeing Radley and Francesca for the first time, their fists clenched, their eyes heavy-lidded against the light.
10. Rounding the halfway point on the novel.
Feeling incredibly blessed and fortunate as New Year's approaches. Wishing you and yours the same for 2004.
9:18:59 AM 
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