The Year In Review

So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking,
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.

Time; Pink Floyd, from "The Dark Side Of The Moon" album, 1973

Well, another calender year is under our belt and we have seen quite a few interesting things transpire here at our little cyber-bar. The world, which has seemed to be spinning a little cockeyed for sometime, holds a little promise of righting itself now that we have changed administrations, but these are not the things we need to concern ourselves with now. Now is the time to reflect back on the past year and to nurse our hangover from last night. So grab a cold beer to help stave off the shakes and let's look at "The Year In Review"!

I started off '08 with a tag from Skyler's Dad called Seven Things You Don't Know About Me. Bless his heart, he has been the inspiration for some of the best stuff I've ever penned. Along the same lines, I've written some goofy "Random Thoughts". If that wasn't bad enough, I let my mind go wandering again.

This was followed by a tale of my youth, The Ride Of My Life that involved risking life and limb as well as petty theft. I've also included a tale of romance from down on the farm from my dating years entitled "Cow Tipping Can Lead To Romance; a cautionary tale." I have offered advice about drunken driving. Another tale of yesteryear that included a sad twist was "An Irish Wake" that deals with two funny men who are gone from my life, but hopefully not forever. There is also a revisit to my hometown in picture and song that is slightly more revealing than I would like. I told you about my mom, and how I almost died this year.

Next is a how-to on spoiling anybody's day. On 1/31/08 I provided what I like to call my Aging Rocker's Salute with a "best of" from '07, distilled from the best of my best, should you be inclined to look that far back, but I'm willing to bet that your New Year's Day hangover is enough pain to suffer through without this.

Now for one of the biggest highlights of last year, my attendance to a Fetish Fashion Show lovingly referred to as The Organ Grinder's Ball. This event was enough fodder for four posts and was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen. While I'm not into this particular thing, I felt obliged to go for a couple of reasons. The first is simple enough; where am I ever going to see the likes of this again? The second reason is I felt an obligation to my Dear and Gentle Readers to report the best/most unusual/interesting things I could find. Third, I was in a horrible rut and couldn't think of a single thing to post about and was prepared to start posting shopping lists and tales of folding laundry while drunk. So for your entertainment alone, I went. The evening unfolded itself in multiple stories and I tried to tell them all in one post, but the round peg wouldn't fit the square hole, so I broke it down. Part Eiens is a tale of people watching which is a horrible addiction of mine. Part Deux was another tale of seeing the crowd and some of the people I observed, as well as plans for how to dress for '09 as I am returning again this year. Look for it in future posts. Part III is a summation of the show and why I should have been spanked for being there.

This year I have introduced some of my paltry cartoons and they have been received with much praise. For this, I thank you. After my initial post, requests for more poured in. My second installment garnered even more accolades. I did one for Skyler's Dad. I did one for Err. I put up a picture of Flannery and I done by a professional artist at her company Christmas party. Later, after I had become more comfortable with sharing my art, as well as figuring out how to post it, I put this up. Vikkitickitavi at "Bells On" bravely asked for a cartoon and this is what she and Voltaire got. Afterwards my brother Err asked for one of his very own, so I obliged with some that I had done ages ago and let him pick. Wouldn't you know it, he picked my favorite. The toughest and most rewarding one was the one I did for Dale, followed by one for Cap'n Ergo Jinglebollocks.

One of my most discussed posts hinged on an aging star's wedding and I was totally unprepared for the comments that followed, but after a long think, it became a topic that I endorsed and returned to. I have entertained dreams I was a celebrity. I have spoken out against my hatred of hatred.

There were times I wished for the best for all of us, or at least as many as I could think of. There was a time when my real age and my mental age were called into question after I got a fan-effing-tastic care-package from Blowing Shit Up With Gas. He had life deal him a low card and he had to leave blogdom to attend to it, but I am thankful that he will be returning in this new year. I also proposed a kit that would make your life easier. I saluted my friend Franklinton here, as I would be lost without him.***

There were passings of some of our favorites like here, and here, or this noble fellow who died long ago. I posted this piece as a tribute to a great human being and two weeks later, I read of his death. This is truly a shame as we could have used his wisdom and charm about now.

I've even managed to say something smart and ended up right for a change, like here. I do this so seldomly that it is often a surprise to everyone concerned. I happened to do it again with this little nugget that convinced a life-long bachlorette into considering taking the plunge and stop herself from lingering over the underwear section of the JC Penny's ads.

I posed interesting questions. I composed a short story about murder entitled Garage Door Helpline, and took a long, hard look at one of our most treasured holidays, Thanksgiving, and just to round things out, wrote a piece of fiction retelling the plight of three wise men on Christmas. It was a three part tale, as there was a lot of ground to cover and every good tale should have a begining, a middle, and an end. I am very proud of the short fiction I've written, and while I know that if people want a good story they pick up a book by a professional writer instead of turning to some amateur hack, but I still think that these are some of the best things I've ever written and they make me smile.

I know that this is the kind of post that is quickly skimmed over and promptly forgotten, but I think I do this more for my sake than for the benefit of my Dear and Gentle Readers, as I need to look back over a years worth of work and pick the good bits from the truly dreadful, while most of what I put up hovers at mildly amusing.

I hope that the coming New Year is everything you hoped it would be and your hard-times and woes are kept to a minimum, and should you need some good advice in the coming months, think of this: "Ladies and Gents, take my advice; pull down your pants and slide on the ice!"--Dr. Sydney Freedman, M*A*S*H.

Love,
Doc