A Happy 2011 to you all. May 2010 be locked in the closet forever, never to be remembered.
Technically January 1st was a couple of days ago, but a weekend of football allows for a delayed start.
I could veer straight into politics, but that will have to wait one more day.
I have a billion things to do, and I just don’t know how I will get everything done.
In several days I turn 39, and the day after my dad turns 70.
Where did the time go?
I keep hearing that life is a marathon, not a sprint. I keep being told that it is the journey, not the destination.
Everybody thinks about this stuff. Yet as this new year begins, it seems impossible to process the micro and the macro.
The macro is the world around me, and I don’t like what I see.
Third world Islamofascist genocidal lunatics are still trying to kill us all.
North Korea is still going bonkers.
America is on the brink of financial ruin, with California leading the nation into the death spiral.
Yet for some reason, I don’t feel as bad as I should. Maybe I am naive, but I still believe in this country.
We are the people who feed, clothe, protect, and defend the world. We come up with cures for diseases. We invented the internet. We saved the world in World War II, and my generation will not let this country sink.
Yet I spend so much time on the macro that I ignore the micro.
I thoroughly enjoy blogging, and my formula of one post per day works for me. What started as a hobby has now turned into my business.
Some people pay me to blog. Other people pay me to speak all around the country. I am a frequent radio guest of talk programs, and my opinion is often sought.
Yet everything has a price. Living in a nice condo in a nice neighborhood is pleasant. The Jacuzzi water is perfect, and the big screen tv looks great when watching football.
I lead a happy life. I am truly blessed.
Yet all the first class flights will not give me what I need most…more time.
We all need more time. I wish we could clone ourselves like Michael Keaton in “Multiplicity.” Even running errands is time I can barely afford.
I keep saying that at some point I need to impregnate a Republican Jewish brunette.
Yet no matter how many of them I meet, it does not change the fact that trying to sprint through a marathon just gives one cramps and blisters.
The last few days I did something that I never do. I relaxed.
I am always doing something. Even when I am watching the game I am doing something.
Yet the last few days, I actually decompressed.
My friend has a 3 year old child. I affectionately refer to him as “the boy.”
The other day I visited the boy. He sees me and calls me “Uncle Eric.” He gives the best high 5s on the planet.
His dad read him a story, and I just looked into the child’s eyes.
The reason why his dad and I care about all this political stuff is not so we can win elections. It is so the boy can have a better life.
I thank God that the boy does not know what is around him. He plays with his trains, and laughs when I do my “duck walk” that he copies. When a grown man is walking like a duck, there had better be a kid around.
In the coming months there will be another presidential election beginning way too soon, global conflicts we may or may not be ready for, and people that leave us too soon.
In 2011 I have more to do. It is time to be a syndicated columnist. It is time to get back into radio on the host side of the microphone. It is time to get my speaking career into the stratosphere.
So many people have helped me. I cannot thank them all.
All I know is that nothing worth having comes easy or free.
I cannot control the outcome but I can control the effort.
I have always worked hard, and this year I will work as hard as possible.
Yet I will make absolutely sure to enjoy the results.
I am not somebody who stops to smell the roses. That is not my style.
So while I will constantly be doing things, the occasional reality check that only the smile of a child can bring will keep me centered.
I have sprinted to a good start to 2011, already accomplishing things ahead of schedule.
Yet the marathon is just getting started.
God bless you all in all your journeys.
This concludes my warm fuzzy sentiments for the year. Tomorrow it is back to business.
After all, the world is not going to fix itself, and the Republican Jewish brunettes are not going to get pregnant by themselves.
Pleasure is business and business is good.
Yet more remains to be done. Before we know it, 2011 will be a memory.
Until then, the sleeves are rolled up.
Time to get the Tygrrrr Express rolling now.
eric