Goodbye 2008... (and good riddance)
I'm up early. The house is quiet, the coffee is hot, and on the other side of my living room wall it is pretty chilly (thank goodness for insulation). My trusty kitchen thermometer reads -23 degrees this morning. Yes, it's cold enough fer me. This is the last day of 2008 and I am just sitting here thinking about the year in review. For the most part, pardon my frankness, it's been a pretty shitty year, at least for my family. My cousin Corey was shot in the head early in 2008; incredibly, he escaped with his life. Soon after that, my cousin Dennis (Corey's father) was diagnosed with cancer. In the early part of the year, my great-nephew was found overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning. This summer my great-niece fell from a deck over ten feet in the air and fractured her skull. Thankfully, they both recovered and are doing well. This fall another great-niece had all of her personal belongings destroyed in an apartment fire. Worst of all, my cousin Dennis lost his...