My First Column for 2010

This is my first column for 2010 and I’m actually excited about the coming year. I stop short of saying that I think it will be a great year.  The last time I said that was 1975.  I wound up losing my job on my birthday early in January of 1976 and spent the rest of the year doing odd jobs and panhandling to make ends meet. Well, I didn’t actually panhandle unless you count our parents, but the year turned out to be a low point in my young life.

I want to do things this year that I’ve never done before. Our friend Fred wants to take us to eat sushi. I don’t normally eat fish bait, but he seems pretty high on it so we’re going to give it a spin. The idea is to learn, grow, and evolve into a better person in 2010.

I’d also like to ride to New Orleans on the Amtrak Crescent. I had a short ride back when I wrote a story about trains while working at The Community News, but the last decent train ride I had was when I was in Panama in 1972. 

My friend Jocko and I took the last train headed to Colon one Sunday evening in January. Our seats were on the last car. The train was almost deserted so we went outside and dangled our feet off the platform on the back of the train as it wobbled across the Isthmus along side the Panama Canal. 

I’m guessing Jilda and I won’t have the same experience on the Amtrak as those wacky conductors normally take dim view of open-air riding.

One big milestone for us in 2010 is that our house should pay off this year. It seems like we’ve been paying on it all our lives and to think it will belong to us and not the bank is exciting! I can tell you we will have one heck of a mortgage burning party when this baby is paid off.

I always enjoy spending the last week of the year envisioning my future. After we retire from our day gig, we want to spend our time playing music at festivals and coffee shops. We want to write songs and books. We want to travel and see more of the world.

Some people put off the things they love doing until they retire, or their kids are grown or until some future event occurs. We haven’t done that. We’ve consistently moved in the directions of our dreams, but I think retirement will give us more time for the things we love.

I know I’ve said this before, but New Year’s is my favorite holiday. Each New Year is like a clean slate. Like the fresh thick lined notebook and fat cedar pencils from kindergarten.

Each New Year, we have a chance for a new beginning. We can look back at the old year, take note and celebrate our accomplishments. With the New Year, we can look to the future, aim a little higher and try with all our hearts to do something remarkable.

Happy New Year.