Winding Down the Year

Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. OK, they're all 24 hours, but some have fewer hours of sunlight than others and that too is variable, depending on your locale. Here on the 14th floor, overlooking Lake Michigan, the darkness is already creeping in upon us at 4:10 PM.

It's very difficult to see much of the lake today. It's very cold outside and the windows are fogged up in spots and frosted over in spots. Peering through the few clear spots I can see a very large expanse of white, frozen water. Babs has elected to spend the day indoors pursuing indoorsy things. I had to venture out to the grocery store to purchase necessary items, i.e. cat food and cat litter.

The TV weather tells us that the temperature is such and such at O'Hare, such and such at Midway, and on and on. I gauge the temperature by the readout in the car when I'm out and about. That being said, it's 2 degrees at the Mini Cooper. I really cannot say what the windchill factor is. This is a shortcoming of the German engineering in the Mini. It tells me my average MPG. It tells me my average rate of speed. It tells me how many more miles I can drive on the current tank of gas. It tells me how many miles I should drive before changing the oil. It does not, however, tell me the windchill factor, or what to buy Babs for our anniversary. Perhaps this calls for a letter to those BMW engineers.

The year is winding down and I'm anticipating a driving trip to Minnesota in a couple of days. I'm hoping for a Christmas trip that does not get extended by reason of excessive snowfall this year. Over the last 20 plus years of my marriage to a woman from Northern climes I have taken a trip at Christmas a great many times and have been snowed in a great many times, thus extending the joy of family Christmas to overjoyousness. We have driven and been snowed in. We have flown and had runways shut down due to snow, thus snowing us in for all practical purposes.

The solution to all this would seem to get all of my in-laws to move to Florida, but they seem a bit intransigent on this point. One can dream, can't one. In the meantime I will be driving to Minnesota once again. Maybe I'll take my snowshoes.

The ending of the year brings to mind a great many things. I made less money this year than last, but I'm not exactly destitute. It's the last few days of the W administration, and thank goodness for that. Our investments cannot take any more of the W gang looting the country. What a concept. Turn over the regulatory agencies to those who are supposed to be regulated. Then let your friends get filthy rich at the expense of the rest of us. Barack cannot arrive in D.C. too soon. (As I sit here in my "One voice can change the world." Obama '08 T-shirt) So even if not destitute, retirement became a bit more difficult and the number of years working before retirement may have gotten longer because of this year.

I was just looking at my running logs for the year and I realize that I ran 745.66 miles this year. That's like running from Chicago to Minneapolis and back far enough to catch a Metra train from the suburbs in the rest of the way. Not bad for an old guy. My weight continues to be a plague on my existence so I'll no doubt run at least that far next year as well. Good Ray genetics to thank for that, a whole family of Scotch-Irish squat,wide people. Then my hair had the nerve to turn gray on me and start falling out in huge quantities. The bald spot on the back is in danger of meeting the receding hairline in the front and shaking hands, figuratively. If literally, that would be a bit scary.

Overall, however, life has still been good. I can still enjoy a good cup of English tea, with a bit of New Zealand honey, and a touch of Key West lemon juice. My health is still good. My wife is still lovely. The big flat screen TV still works. I can still listen to music from the stereo through speakers in my bathroom, while I ....shave. I wrote a lot of songs this year and hope to continue doing so. I've learned a bit more about music theory and creating accompaniment to songs with a guitar. In the spring I anticipate a trip to Miami.

It is true that through the entire 2008 year, the Cubs, Bears, and Bulls have continued to be the bane of my existence. It could be worse, sportswise, I could be in New York where Steinbrenner continues to pour money into a franchise that is good, but somehow not good enough. The Knicks make the Bulls look like the second coming of Jordan, and well forget about the Giants and Jets. A hardy raspberry for those two. Maybe they'll choke yet. At least I don't live in Detroit.

The days are only getting longer from here. Winter is with us for a while yet, but the new year is just around the corner, bringing the hope that new years always do, for better things. Enjoy these last few days with family and friends. Refresh yourself and come back with a new mindset, determined to beat the world at its own game in 2009. Enjoy the fact that you'll be getting a few minutes more of sunlight every day from now until June. Happy Solstice.