The calendar has played a clever trick on this procrastinating prognosticator. Writing a New Year's column seems pointless when your day in the lineup is the day after New Year's Day.
At least the day after Christmas had a custom to pontificate upon. Today is empty as a hole.
It's hard to look back or ahead when staring into the abyss that is January 2nd. You've had a full day of recovering from New Year's Eve. The brain cells are focusing on things beside football, some of which aren't pretty. You had your black eyed peas for good luck in the new year and today you're looking for some payoff. It's the holidays are over blues.
But look away I must, I signed on for this gig. It's Friday and there you are reading. So let me roll up my sleeves and adjust my rearview mirror a bit.
Looking back, I'd say a lot of good things happened. You know the ones I mean. A lot of bad things happened, too. You remember them.
Things have definitely gotten worse. Except for the things that got better. Things definitely got better in 2014 I'd have to say.
Don't ask for any details. I said definitely, didn't I? Details...facts...those are insufficient and if we learned anything in 2014, it's that most people don't want to be bothered with facts. Who needs the inconvenience?
So let's look ahead and forget our troubles. And resolutions, because I predict 74% of us have already broken them for 2015.
Did I just blow your mind?
Looking further, I predict some good things will happen. Bad things will happen, too. The world will spin daily even though there will be some who deny it. The world is full of deniers. People love denying because it makes them feel righteous and Lord knows we love to be righteous. It makes us think we're right.
Good people will do stupid things and stupid people will do miraculous things. There will be miracles and there will be disasters. Sometimes in one place. The sublime is multi-directional.
I predict in 2015 there will be a lot of change. Except nothing will change. If you can't change your mind are you sure you still have one? Or are you still hoping you find some change in the couch?
Maybe I should change directions.
Yes, it's hard looking backward and forward at the same time. The January 2 void is glaring and distracting when multi-directional observation takes focus. I've got to pinpoint an idea going in both directions, something that is completely pertinent to the matter at hand. Which I think is a new year time of year column.
2014 was great for me. I got the opportunity to share some ideas every Friday. Nice people actually come up to me and admit to reading them.
2015 is going to be pretty good too. Looks like they're going to let me keep writing these things. I'll hold off on predicting whether people will continue to admit reading them, though.