And so the year ends. Seems fitting to finish out 2013 with this bittersweet reminder of the past. It hardly seems possible that Dan Fogelberg has been gone six years, but he has.
And I can’t finish without one last flashmob, particularly fitting considering its setting. Dick Clark’s been gone since 2012, and I don’t watch the ball drop anymore.
2013 was the year I returned to college, the year I lost Marty, Nancy, Craig and more (up to 14 so far this year, of the people I knew). It was the year I moved back into an apartment again, giving up on the American Dream and likely my last chance at home ownership. It was the year I went to the Clearwater Great Hudson River Revival and to Pennsic for the first time.
It was the year I got back to Broadway and saw both Pippin and Lucky Guy. And my college advisor in The Producers (which I hadn’t seen on stage before).
It was the year I proved I could pull a reliable 4.0, and that I could stick to a goal. 367 posts after the start of the year, and plans for another year’s worth of posts, at least.
And it proved to me that I do have a solid grasp on both art and writing. It was the year I finally finished a book, and a short screenplay, and now (soon) a short story.
2014 holds more classes, another possible move, another possible visit to Pennsic (and more photos). It might mean losing more friends to cancer or old age, and it might mean making new friends. Last year, I made whole bunches of connections. Who knows what will come of that.
With friends distributed across three continents and all over North America, from Florida to Alaska, California to Maine, in the United States, Canada and Great Britain, Australia, Germany, Japan and more, it’s been a wild year for everyone I know.
I’m celebrating my 50th New Year’s Eve this year, in a year that just hasn’t felt like a reason to celebrate. Here’s to the end of 2013 and here’s hoping 2014 is a vast improvement.
Happy New Year, one and all! See you on the 1st!