Another year has passed and I’ve finally figured out that I’m not getting any younger.  I know it’s hard to believe – but it’s true – I’ve finally passed into middle age.  But that’s OK, it happens to the best of us.

2007 was, overall, a good year.  There was some sadness, of course, with the unexpected passings of my mother-in-law, Mrs. Pheobe Boivin (Santa Rosa, CA) and my childhood best friend, Lonnie Harvey (Riverside, CA. [Read "Lonnie and Me"]

But there was also much to be joyful over.  I reconnected with another childhood friend, Dick Kelly, in August.  Our friendship continues to grow and revitalize my life in so many ways.  He and his wife, Helen, were so gracious during our brief visit in November.  I was also able to visit with some nephews and nieces that I had not seen for many years during a family reunion in Oregon.

Living in Oregon has been a very good thing for me. I recommend it to everyone. I love being here and find little to complain about. It’s too bad that I had to be away from home so much of the year due to travel and family commitments. I am especially blessed with a beautiful home and a great view. The frequent rain does not bother me at all and mowing lawns again has given me some exercise.

I want to look back for a moment and send out special congratulations to all of my grandkids for their most excellent success on the playing field this past year. I also want to express my extreme pleasure with all of them for continuing to do so well in their school studies and extra-curricular activities.

One special mention for my oldest granddaughter. I was privileged to watch on DVD her performance during the “Nutcracker” ballet during December. The level of her efforts and quality of her dancing were most excellent. To say I was proud would be an understatement. One can easily forget how athletic and demanding dance can be, and ballet is one of the more difficult of all the arts to perform well. All I can say is that I have seen many performances of the “Nutcracker,” but none finer than the one put on by my granddaughter and the rest of the ballet company on that wonderful DVD.

I’ve decided to really work at losing some weight.  When I was a kid I weighed well under 120 and as a young adult rarely got over 135.  I really felt heavy in my thirties when I topped out just under 180.  Now I am over 200.  I simply have to deal with the problem.

At one point in my late twenties I decided that I’d like to be a police officer (“Adam-12″ was popular at the time) and actually went down and got an application.  In order to qualify, however, my minimum weight would have to be 155 lbs., well over the 140 that I averaged at the time.  So I gave up that dream (thank goodness!) Now, of course, with women, Asian and Hispanic officers, that type of discriminatory weight limitation has long passed into history.  I guess I was just born 15 years too soon.

Now that the holidays are behind us, I can concentrate on drinking more water, walking at least a mile a day (to start) and cutting way back on the carbs.  I’ve decided to create another blog (only my closest friends will know the domain name) that will track my progress and make recommendations on how others can either lose weight by following what works for me – or by avoiding my mistakes.  Should be very interesting.

Above all the most important resolution is to love my friends and family even more than in the past.  I am probably the luckiest guy in the world thanks to my family and some very close friends.  I probably do not show it as much as I should, but I think about them all constantly and am so proud of their accomplishments and success.  Mostly I am most proud of the way they all love one another and provide support and encouragement to their kids and elders.  I hope that they all had a great holiday season.

Happy New Year to you all and with it may you find love and great success!