Between the snows that had fallen last week, the snow that fell on Friday night and the snow plows, there are more than just a few vehicles such as trailers, cars and even trucks that were still going to be under huge drifts on Monday morning.
Friday was as much a white Christmas as I have seen in years and it was kind of fun to watch “White Christmas” in the evening before heading off to 11 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve. It wasn’t quite the fully delightful day as I found out a brother who had been declared lung cancer free on Jan. 31, 2014, had found less than a week earlier that the cancer was back.
Anyway, here is to hoping that you had the Christmas you were hoping for and that you were able to spend the day with good friends, your family and/or other loved ones. That makes for a great day and a complete holiday.
For those of you not able to be with your family and other loved ones, it isn’t too late to give them a call, drop them a line, drive across town, etc. Family is important, whether we always want to admit it or not. There truly is no time like the December holidays to open those doors to those we may have lost track of or those who we may have written off over a stupid argument years go.
Make use of the present before it is too late and they escape us before we have the chance to cross their paths again.
Today is New Year’s Eve.
An entire new chapter of our life begins as we enter the new year, and I think it is great that we have such a day set aside for us to decide whether we want or need to have a day set aside for new beginnings.
I have made probably as many New Year’s resolutions as anyone I know and I honestly can’t tell you if I ever kept a single one. From exercise to losing weight to throwing away the cigarettes. From switching to a better, healthier diet to trying to stop using four-letter words quite so often, not much has worked; not much has taken place.
I gave up on New Year’s resolutions about five years ago.
I figured I had only been fooling myself for roughly 57 years as of then, so why continue? It certainly doesn’t make me feel good to admit, “Well, I blew it again!”
Weight and exercise were always the lead resolutions in my long battle against excess weight. I would be able to hold that resolution as a youth until Mom served New Year dinner. If the ham and turkey and turkey gravy and mashed potatoes didn’t ruin me, then it was probably the pumpkin and, oh, yes, the pecan pies that she would make.
Meanwhile, if I am at least 1 percent honest with myself, I know what my weaknesses are. I know where I need to improve health-wise, socially, professionally and personally. I don’t need to write them down and tell everyone and feel bad when when I fail.
I decided this year I am going to try to improve on them all, be unhappy with myself when I come up short, be proud when I prevail and just make this year a better year from within.
I don’t expect a perfect year, but even a slight improvement would be a big move if I do it with the right outcome being the overall goal. None of us are where we could be in leading a flawless life, and actually that sounds pretty boring. But a year of being more mellow, more career/job oriented and being more socially aware sounds like a pretty good year.
The thought of being more politically correct doesn’t sound like a lot of fun nor does it sound particularly exciting. I guess I am still going to be more—but try to do that in a healthier, more sociable and more professional way.
I am grateful that the ill health that was with me from early October through the New Year is now officially past me, and I am grateful for New Year’s Day. No resolutions forthcoming but hopefully improvement will become a reality.
Thanks and congratulations to those who went to the trouble of putting up lights for Christmas—as a good number of folks in Meeker and Rangely did.
It seems like a few folks waited longer this year than last, but in the end, I would say there were a couple more folks who did so this year.
Obviously, some displays are a lot of work that doesn’t get done in one day. Some other folks may just put an hour or two into putting a single string of lights on their porch railing.
But each and every single added display complements the season and adds to the experience enjoyed while driving around from town to town or even neighborhood to neighborhood.
One of the most eye-catching displays I saw during the holidays was perhaps one of the dimmest yet one of the most enjoyable. The home had at least 12 front windows and—while all house lights were turned off and the rest of the house and yard was dark—each single window had one lone candle light, and the light wasn’t very bright. You really had to look at the house to see them. For some reason, the effect was one of the most touching.
Again, thanks to those who went the extra mile with the garage lights, the store lights and the home/yard lights. You made a difference in my attitude and I would bet the attitudes of a lot of other folks.
I am writing this column on Sunday evening, and am holding this part of my column until Tuesday morning because the Denver Broncos don’t play until Monday night, hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in a very important game.
If the Broncos win, they will be the No. 2 seed in the AFC, and if they lose, they will be tied with the Kansas City Chiefs atop the AFC West.
Denver has the advantage over the Chiefs if they are tied, but there is still one game left. I would point out that the last game of the year is at home against the San Diego Chargers, one of the teams that beat the Broncos earlier this year.
And, by the way, Denver, as of Sunday, still had not earned a playoff berth.
The other flip side of the coin is that with the Patriots having lost on Sunday, if Denver wins against Cincinnati and against the Chargers, the Broncos will have the home field advantage throughout the playoffs if the Patriots lose their last game.
Go Broncos!!!
As of Tuesday morning:
Oh my God! If luck wasn’t a part of that victory over the Bengals, I don’t know what luck is. That game-winning fumble was unheard of. It was the first time the announcers could find that a playoff game was ever won on a walk-off fumble.
You know, it would be a lot easier on all Bronco fans and the Broncos if the team decided to show up and play one full game instead of one great half and one dismal half.
If Denver wins this weekend, they will have a round-one bye and home field advantage for the first game they do play. With some major luck, Denver could win and the Patriots lose and Denver would have the home field advantage all the way through the AFC Championship game.
With a Denver loss, Denver will be a busy team throughout the playoffs if they want to make Super Bowl 50.
Happy New Year to you all.
Jan. 1 is a great day to start over with something that may have gone awry. Make the best of it!!!
