2012

I'll spare you my annual "I hate this night" rant.  Two thousand twelve is almost over.  Time marches on.  It's soo overrated.  Plus Carson Daly.  I mean, really?

But let's process this past year.  It was, at times, "a very good year" (Frank Sinatra, of course).  At other times, it wasn't.  But I mean, really, isn't every year like that?

I traveled a lot in this year.  I'll always remember that.  It started with

Charleston...

then Las Vegas (of which, I'm assuming, I will never get the rest of the pictures)...

then Cooperstown.  A quick weekend to Philadelphia for my niece's graduation followed, then came...

Tampa Bay (that's Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs above).  I wasn't done yet.  I went hiking and camping, and for the first time, I went to...

 Cape Cod.  The big trips dried up at that point, except for...

Florida. Again.

Yet, the naysayer can offer that I didn't go to Africa, or Europe, or Lava Hot Springs, Idaho.  But I have a hard time complaining.  Simply going to Florida (twice) and Cape Cod would have been enough for me.  I would have liked maybe some more long weekends and/or day trips, but all good.  I only went to Reading, PA (for Waffle House and outlets) twice in 2012.  Not complaining.  Just saying.

Personally and professionally, we saw it all.  We revived "The Press Box."  That was the good news.  We did Greenwich football, but have yet to call a hockey game.  I wrote more professionally than ever in 2012, and there's a calling for me to do more.  Some think I'm sort-of OK at this writing gig.  On the other hand, here on the "mother ship" I didn't pour out the volume that I wanted.

There's a reason for everything.  Some are more involved than others, but all of them are real and honest.

I started the year with questions.  I'm ending it the same way.  In between were highs and lows.  Fun and sorrow.  Stress and euphoria.

See what I mean?  ANY year can be seen as both good...and bad.

Look, we can go with the basics here.  I'm still alive.  That's a good start.  I still have Sean, and we're as close as ever.  So, OK, let's go with that.

One can always hope for better.  One should.  I do.

I hope for 2013.  Oh, how I hope.  But then again, I hope for tomorrow.  The next day.  The next minute.  So it goes.  But I hope for peace.  That's my hope every year.  We're so far from that.  I hope for prosperity.  We all deserve it.  I hope for love - unconditional.  Happiness.  Jeez, it's not that hard, is it?

I hope for continued recovery in Newtown, and Breezy Point, and the Jersey Shore.  I hope for our politicians to find a clue.

Selfishly, I hope for brighter days.  And work - lots of it.  And work for my friends who also aren't working.

This is on my mind today...

Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?

And each time I feel like this inside,
There's one thing I wanna know:
What's so funny 'bout peace, love, & understanding?

- Nick Lowe, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?" (Most famously performed by Elvis Costello)



All the best for a great 2013.