It seems like it was just yesterday that the millenial doomsday was upon us. People were running around making preparations for the unknown catastrophe that might happen because computers wouldn't reset correctly or the Mayan calendar was coming to an end. Nothing much out of the ordinary happened except that we got another year older. Now, here it is fourteen years later and things still work.
My new year's resolution this year: I swear I won't swear anymore when I look out the window and see another inch of snow that I have to clear off. Well, the hell I won't. Dammit. It snows every day! It did again last night and it's only the 1st of January.
I subscribe for a free weekly download of a short story from The Library of America. The column is called Story of the Week. The last story, first published in 1936 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - is popular again because a movie based on the story is playing now in theaters. I'd never read it, but I took the time now... all of five minutes. It's very short. Written by James Thurber the story opens with Walter Mitty standing at the controls of a ship breaking through the ice where his crew lauds his bravery and expertise. His daydream breaks when he hears his wife say, "Not so fast! You're driving too fast!" He is basically a hen-pecked man at her service.
When he drops his wife off at the beautician, his mind takes him to an operating room where he performs surgical miracles. And so the story goes. It was well worth the time to read it. Why I'd never looked it up before, I don't know. I've heard of Walter Mitty all my life.
We volunteers at the archaelogical won't go back until Feb. There's too much going on in there, what with the new addition nearing completion, the shifting and moving going on, etc. But the final product is going to be something! It's a 53 million dollar expansion and remodel, folks. That ain't hay. One of the employees said it will be the Smithsonian of the north. Can't wait.
I know that the quality of this blog has been suffering of late. I've been putting a lot of energy into the newspaper column, which, by the way, has been well received. For another resolution, I promise to put more into the blog (but then I already broke the first one). If a new year's wish counts towards a resolution, then I wish for a clear mind and nimble typing fingers for the rest of my days. Happy New Year!!!
