Happy New Year! No, Seriously!

I won't be making any resolutions this year, New Year's or otherwise. I'm as close to perfect as I'm going to get.

Please note that I did not say that I was perfect. Just as close as I'm ever liable to get. I've made a lot of progress, though. Here, I'll prove it.

A week and a half ago I was sitting in our local Dunkin Donuts having a pleasant natter with my good friend, let's call him “Mr. Big.” (That's a pretty good joke if you knew his real surname, and actual height, but I prefer not to use real names on this blog.) The subject of presidential elections came up organically, and apropos of something I mentioned that Ross Perot had walked away with nineteen percent of the popular vote in 1992.

“No,” says Mr. Big. “I don't think it was that much. More like eleven percent.” He is a smart man, is Mr. Big, and he dug in his heels on the eleven percent. I let it go.

That, my friends, is what real personal growth looks like. I LET IT GO. Well, I almost let it go. It's been grating on me all this time. I just looked it up again, and sure as you're born, Ross Perot took 18.9% of the popular vote in 1992.

Will I mention this at our next coffee? No, I won't. I will not insist on proving that I was right, again. (I almost wrote, “as usual,” but that would have been obnoxious.) Chalk up another point in the personal growth column.

Resolutions aside, the point remains: tonight is New Year's Eve. Happy New Year, dear readers! And may all of your dreams come true in a year filled with health and happiness!

That might be overdoing it a bit. 2022 was kind of a nail-biter. You might say it was a real pain-in-the-ass. With lowered expectations for 2023, on next year's New Year's Eve may you still have a roof over your head, and food on your table, and all of your bills paid, and may all of your medical news be good, or at least affordable.

Oh! I just reminded myself that next year will begin the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. So I guess peace of mind is out of the question. Be comfortable, at least, and don't take any of it personally.

Good luck.