A bad year, and yet . . .

It's been less than six months since I began this weblog, but with 2005 coming to an end, it seems a good time for some summing up. Looking back over the year, I think of all the bad things that have happened, especially the natural disasters: the aftermath of the Asian tsunami, the summer hurricanes. Will New Orleans ever be the place I remember? What has become of all my friends who used to live there? And yet, thankfully, from my perspective anyway, little of that affected me in any direct way. On the other hand, it is difficult for anyone paying attention to the current drift of world history to be in an optimistic frame of mind. There's the growing deficit, global warming, the failure of political leadership, let alone the terror of the London bombings and the steady disintegration of Iraq. Sometimes I think of that Matthew Arnold quotation: "Wandering between two worlds, one dead, The other powerless to be born, With nowhere yet to rest my head."

Well, that's me, always thinking of some old work of literature. The fact is, 2005 has been no worse than previous years so far as I personally have been concerned, and certainly nothing like 2001, when my wife and I experienced the loss of her mother and my father, not to mention other well remembered world events. Rather, in my own little world, it's been a rather dull year, with little of note to set it apart. And as I steel myself for 2006 and a notable milestone on my own life's journey, another dull year is not the worst report one can have.

And so once again I have determined to look out at the future with a more optimistic frame of mind. (Something that's more easily done while on my year-end vacation.) Anyway, that has been my New Year's resolution for the last several years, since the millennium I guess. I have so far failed to hold to it, but it remains my fond desire, like losing weight and being a better husband, oh yes, and going to the gym more regularly. I figure, if I can manage to hold to some of these matters, maybe the rest of the world will begin to take care of itself. And so Happy New Year!