In the Years of the World: Greetings from the 8th Millennium

I have to say, as much as I favor the morose, that’s in my soul, equal parts Poe and Bennett and Baldwin and Himes and Woolrich, and aye Barker’s there too, there’s equal parts of me that sees only the gold.

That sees some grand beauty in our design.

That believes fervantly that we are the stuff of stars, and reprimands loudly at what poor use we’ve made of it.

We can be more.

Even onto the ending of the world.

We can be more.

Last night was a fine night.

And today was a fine day.

And we can be more.

In the ancient Ethiopic Calendar (which I am a follower of, more than the Gregorian) Today is the 23rd day of Tahsas in the 7511th Year of the World. I never tire of living in the 8th Millennium. :).

The first year of the 2nd Decade of the 21st Century… IS ENDED!

Closing out the 1st year of the 2nd decade of the 21st century (which is what 2010 was, if you didn’t know) I find myself once again at that odd summing up place:

“I’m an oooooddddddd

And Vicious man but I’m still

Stan Ding

And the dark is all around

But it’s a

Lan Ding”

Copyright 2010-2011

That little refrain of mind sums up me making it through this year. A battle of inches, a grueling ground war, every well-fought over piece of foot forward, weighed against every crushing foot back

A year of successes: Travel some, Publish one, secure peace of hearth, those quiet places internal, discover roots unknown, E & V, Celebrate generational additions, Syd. try hard, steps definite. Lots to celebrate.

But all weighed against this sense of treading water… not well. Of real, personal connections and “opposition to save us from ourselves” always… not quite realized.

Of a whole world of people having conversations about the meaningless, while the meaningful is blown to hell.

An odd,summing up year.

“You’re so filled with inconsolable rage”
— QUANTUM OF SOLACE (Good if flawed movie, but excellent opening title/credit sequence and surprisingly good song by Keys and Black)