Hi friends. I hope everyone's holidays have been as pleasant as mine, although I know that is not the case. Many of you were swallowed whole by Denver's voracious snow cloud; all the while, Sioux Falls idles in a bog-brown-like haze, picturesque of an Irish February more than a Midwest December. But alas, this may be the fate our warming planet has in store for us. Regardless of these "convenient metaphors" (Al Gore's impending poetry attempt), the year 2006 A.D. is about to close. Rather than wallow in reflection over the year's public curriculum vitae, I wish all of you a positive personal reflection on 2006 and the incipient 2007. Think not about what did or didn't happen, but what can happen. Hope is the soul's sunshine. And the "soul" in many ways is all we will ever have, including meaning. I couldn't think of something more valuable, yet more manageable. You may not have control over everything that happens to you, but you are completely in control of how you respond to everything that happens to you. And that is what keeps optimists like me looking forward: we. have. control. We can change our planet, our governments, our friends, our addictions, our fears, our futures...
All that is required is will -- the will that is available in abundance from friends, family, and even strangers. So as the sun sets on one diminutively small chapter in time, may I offer you all -- as friends and fellow human co-conspirators -- my will to make 2007 a chapter of enlightenment and happiness. To will is to have.
