Taking Notes (Continued)

Twenty or thirty year old memories are a funny thing. Totally unreliable it appears. Years erode details that you once had no doubt of. Take for example that I would have been prepared to swear on a mountain of bibles that the Crosby, Stills & Nash song, Southern Cross was included on their 1977, CSN reunion album. When in fact the song came out in the early 1980's. That's just not how I remember my history though. Then there's the JFK assassination. The topic of, where were you, came up recently. 1963 .... I was in grade school at the time. Myself and three or four classmates all remember it differently despite the fact that we were all likely in the same place when we were informed. Second graders were not given much freedom in those days to wander all around the school grounds. It was strictly regimented and we did everything together as a group. So why the differing accounts? Yet I am as positive of my version as the others are of theirs.

Today at the store, a guy stopped me and asked if I was from this area and where the closest liquor store was. I gave some vague directions but have wondered since if I possibly contributed to a drunk driver on the road on New Years Eve. Hopefully my directions where vague enough and confusing enough that he went off in the wrong direction.

A new year ....... People always act as if the year ending has been the worst in decades, full of plague, disease and plain old bad luck and that a new year is a new beginning and the transition point for bigger and greater things. Why? If you are in need of positive life changes and refocusing on what matters, why not make the required changes on and celebrate November 13th or June 25th .... or any other given day? A week or a couple months earlier would be better than waiting until January 1st. It's why I refuse to get involved in all the new years hoopla and well wishing. Why not do it EVERY day? Why is going from December 31st to January 1st a reason for renewed optimism and grand hopes for the future? The weather didn't suddenly go from freezing to balmy with putting up a new calender. As far as I'm concerned all it means is that I have a replenished amount of vacation time from work, plus the one day that I'm carrying over from 2013. That's a reason for renewed optimism. If it's anything like last year though, I'll have a hell of a time deciding when to use it. That's my resolution then .... to be decisive about taking a day or week off and not worry that I've left them in a bind. I guess all this makes me a glass half empty type personality. And you know, I'm perfectly OK with that.