Borderland

My family celebrates New Years by going to a big fireworks celebration at the university. We stand downhill from the launch pad, close enough to hear the pyros in charge of the show yelling to each other. The explosions are a full-body sensation there, and sometimes the sparks even come down near us. We have to look nearly straight up to see the colors, and it feels like we’re in the display. Not as cosmic as a good aurora borealis night, but the aurora doesn’t explode, so the fireworks are still pretty cool.

January 1 is a personal accountability day. Everyone looks back and remembers people who are no longer around. They make lists of good stuff and bad stuff that happened. They make predictions. They resolve to do better. Nonetheless, I’m trying very hard to not make any New Year’s resolutions since I can’t think of a time I ever made one that mattered. I have no lists. Nothing much on my radar to look ahead to since the world today seems a lot like the world yesterday.

Feeling a bit bleak, the Edge World Question Center’s Annual Question for 2007, What are you optimistic about? seemed like a good place for me to turn for a little “fresh start” inspiration. There’s a lot there, and I haven’t had time to do more than scan a few of the articles. Maybe my interest in this title says something about my outlook. I had to laugh.

Happy New Year. Really.