Happy 2009...if possible.

2008. Whadda year! From the heights of glorious imagination, stupendous accomplishment, mindblowing ecstacy - and relief - (all related to the Obama campaign, of course, from beginning to end) to the depths of human contemptible behavior, this year has been a dizzying ride.

It seems that nothing has been done in moderation. Reaching the pristine air of the mountaintop, or plunging directly to the smoldering toxic flames of purgatory, human beings displayed the absolute best and worst of their animality.

The Best: Millions of people dug deep into their best selves to come together, as never before, for a common purpose - electing Obama - and exhibited the inimitable strengths of the human spirit, riding as one on the waves of commands coming from the campaign, demonstrating the best of our pack behavior*. What a result!

The Worst: Politicos and businessmen flaunted the most mind-bogglingly egregious behavior that smacked of a pathological lack of any conscience whatsoever, and narcissism** that was beyond the pale. Whatever dybbuk flipped the switch in these guys (were there any women?), must be laughing its head off at the destruction and chaos these human hurricanes left in their shit strewn paths. Hey, the armed forces need new recruits. Well, here's a group of dickhead tough guys who should be forced to join the Army (Marines won't have them), for at least two tours in Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever their dastardly selves can be regularly humiliated by their awful cowardice.

Whither we go next? Will we be treading water all year, out of necessity, and just be glad to make it through to 2010? Will these really sour lemons we've been handed make it impossible to get even a drop of lemonade out of our lives in 2009? Well, the fact that Obama will finally be taking office, and Bush will be slinking off to Crawford, could well be lemonade enough for me. That said, and as we all know, Obama has some pretty intractable issues to deal with, and we're certainly not all going to be on board with his decisions; but, I'll be happy to be unhappy with them.

Now is the time to reevaluate our priorities - some by necessity, some by taking a good hard look at what really matters to us. Passion for whatever interests us can open the door to so many possibilities through creative thinking, being adventurous and taking risks into the boundless beyond. The world awaits. Well, most of the world. So, here's to an Interesting 2009! ONWARD!


* Dogs have a well-developed social system. This system establishes orderly relations among the members. In order for a group of animals to function efficiently the system must have an order and a process of communication which helps to promote that order.

** Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the diagnostic classification system used in the United States, as "a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy."

The narcissist is described as turning inward for gratification rather than depending on others and as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power and prestige. Narcissistic personality disorder is closely linked to self-centeredness. (DUH)