Looks Like We Made It...
Another New Year's Eve...another case of Auld Lang Syne.
Yeah, I know this sounds like a list of Barry Manilow tunes, but I always did like his singing.
And when you finally get to the end of the year, perhaps you don't want to be thrust into it, but rather EASE oneself into it.
I know that I came to look forward to hearing Guy Lombardo's band usher in the New Year.
I can't get into the New Year Rockin' Eve thing...we have the other 364 days to rock the nights away, right?
(this year, I'm watching FOX)
But here we stand...at the threshold of another year.
Do I make resolutions?
Sure, I always resolve to NOT make any resolutions for the new year...that way I'm not bothered if I break any...LOL.
Nothing worse than breaking a promise (especially to yourself), hmm?
Now, what would I like to see differently next year?
Boy, is THAT a loaded question.
-- Like to see the police start busting ALL those people that drive those damn boomcars.
-- Be nice to have certain folks MOVE out of our neighborhood (yeah, the ones that do drugs).
-- Like to see the city do SOMETHING positive for down here...for a change...for once.
-- Be real nice to see a lot more folks take responsibility for their own actions.
That's what I would PREFER to happen sometime next year...
What WILL transpire might go something like THIS:
-- More crime down here
-- Houses changing renters...for the umpteenth time.
-- More kids running loose
-- More boomcars (and "new" ones as well)
(And that's just the SHORT list)
Actually, nothing will REALLY change (for the better) down here NEXT year...it'll be just another year with a different tag on it.
Or, as I prefer to say:
"Same Sh*t - Different Year."
Still, one CAN hope...
(and I can also hope Publishers Clearing House drops a few MILLION bucks off at the house)
You get my point.
Sure was a lot different back when THIS magazine came out, wasn't it.
And it was ONLY 100 years ago.
It'll be another year of wondering if something will come flying through a window when you least expect it.
It'll be another year of interrupted sleep, thanks to the acoustically-challenged morons in the area.
It'll be another year of disrespectful people running amok, doing whatever the hell they want to, because no one is there to stop them.
And that's the GOOD news.
As for US?
Well, we're looking at a new roof for the house (and that will cost about 25% of the assessed value OF the house, thanks to section 8 devaluation of the entire neighborhood), a new side fence for the property (the posts are rotting away) and that will cost a couple grand as well.
You do these repairs because you HAVE to, not because you necessarily WANT to.
You NEVER recoup the funds you toss into "the money pit" down here.
At least the property taxes will still BE UNDER $100 for the YEAR!
But look what you have to deal with to GET such low taxes...
Hopefully, I won't have to SHOOT anyone next year...always a good thing, in spite of the fact that a LOT of creatures that roam our streets deserve to be shot.
(and I'm not talking about the FOUR-footed variety)
Not holding my breath over the black community leaders, either.
They obviously don't give a rat's ass about their own people, otherwise, they'd be on the streets, taking the message of stopping the violence to the doorsteps of all these rentals, wouldn't they?
I KNOW that the yearly display of testosterone by the minority alpha males will begin with the traditional GUNFIRE somewhere around 2345 hrs.
Then it will culminate in what would sound like a CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTMENT for the NEXT HOUR.
If you're prone to "flashbacks" from combat, this probably wouldn't be the BEST place to swing by, trust me.
It will probably cease after 0130, and as usual, I will most likely NOT see ANY FWPD cars cruising the area, looking for these party-goers.
I, on the other hand WILL be watching the neighborhood for muzzle flashes, and I will be calling in ANYONE that I see shooting a gun.
Hopefully, we'll not be the recipients of those bullets that will be shot off (because you KNOW these idiots won't be doing BLANKS).
One thing you can say about the depth of degradation this neighborhood has suffered over the last 14 years...
It's been REAL, and sometimes, it's even been FUN, but it's certainly not been REAL FUN.
Let's TRY to be more "upbeat", though...right, Bob?
Well, I can TRY, but I ain't no JEDI, Yoda!
I know...there is DO and there is DO NOT...there IS no try.
Don't tell ME...tell the flotsam that inhabits this ghettohood.
THEY'RE the ones with the problems when it comes to acting HUMAN.
It would be nice to consider writing a book about the experiences of living in such an area, but everyone would think it's a work of FICTION, rather than FACT.
Be a real hard sell, don'cha think?
Anyway, I look to the NEW YEAR as turning yet another page in the tome of life.
No big deal...no huge celebratory trappings.
Just me and the Missus...with some shrimp, some bubbly, some cheese and each other.
And that's a pretty decent way to ring in ANY year.
One thing...if you don't have anyone with you on New Year's Eve, you're still NOT alone.
You carry with you the memories of all those you had with you over the years.
If I were alone, I still wouldn't be lonely...there IS a difference.
So remember, it's another day...like all the rest.
It's the end of one year...and the beginning of another.
And, it's a good time to start fresh, as it were.
If you've been doing okay since last year...just keep that ball rolling into next year.
But never stop trying to be better than you were the day before...or the year before.
You're BETTER than that, and you can bank on it.
Enjoy yourselves this evening, wherever the four winds find you.
Don't drink and drive...ditto for anything else that could impair your driving.
The police will be out in force (just not in my ghettohood...lol).

Finally, a thank you to my readers out there for making this a great year at the "Erudition". I made some new friends, and deepened friendships of those I've known longer.

And to be perfectly honest, it's YOU people that (on many days) manage to keep me centered in my life and get me to think.

To that, no words can come close to the appreciation I have for what you do for me. I can only say (again)...THANK YOU.
So, as we end this year, may you enter the new one with a renewed sense of purpose..of hope, and of wonder.

This journey ain't over yet, folks.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and as always...
Stay safe out there, America.
((See 'ya next year))