Year in Review

Nothing says Happy New Year like a 40 year old motorcycle from a now defunct manufacturer.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" Pretty much sums up my year and probably the same for many other people this year. In the worst column was the passing of my brother and my heart attack. In the best column was the heart attack. Having a heart attack is no fun but in my case it only required a few days in the hospital and some rehab. It had an effect on friends and family I don't wish to discount but in the big picture it led to some pretty good things. I retired from the high school, I got a kick-ass job at the college, it got me to relax a little and rethink my priorities, I feel better than I have in a couple of years, and I'm getting things done. My things. Things like electricity in the new barn and some work on the VW. I managed to reach my goal of reading 50 books - in fact I got 52. The heart attack was good for that too. Made the time spent in the recliner a little more productive. All in all, a pretty good year.

Resolutions for the new year? Like most people in America, I could stand to lose a couple of pounds. I got down to within five of where I wanted to be and then put five on between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so now I'm looking at ten. I can shed those, though. I just need to stay away from the sweets. The vegan thing has the rest of the diet in pretty solid shape.

As far as any other resolutions, not much necessary - depending upon who you ask, of course. I just need to remember the lessons from rehab about stress reduction and I should be OK. Live in the moment, don't overload the schedule, when things happen that are out of my control, take a few deep breaths and get things in perspective. And to reinforce those lessons, the Missus got me a DVD about stress for Christmas. It's from National Geographic. Pretty scary stuff there. The baboons in the DVD and I have a lot in common (insert your own joke here). However, as long as I can remember to use the stress management techniques, I should be in good shape for awhile. I'm still a work in progress but at least there is progress.

My "bucket list" is pretty short now. I've been to 46 out of 50 states. I'd like to add at least two more in the upcoming year and eventually get to all 50. I also want to go back to Europe. Everything else is pretty easily accomplished. No more running marathons or 500 mile bicycle trips. I want to hit the Peoria TT and do "The Hall of Fame Tour". Get out to the races with Cuzzin Ricky a few times (We finished off the season with a trip to Fort Wayne to watch the midget races over the weekend). Maybe get to Bonneville, depending on the school schedule. A little more time in the garden, finish some projects and try not to forget what's really important in life. Nothing earth shattering here. Just live the simple life with the family and play with the toys.

Best wishes to all of you for a prosperous and healthy 2013.