Happy New Year!

The year 2007 is off and running. I hope it's going well for you and yours.

Personally, it's off to a familiar start. There's snow on the ground, there's a buzz about the Hawkeyes bowl performance, and Brett Farve made the Bears look bad in Chicago; I guess all's right with the world. Well, not entirely... but we'll get through it, I'm sure.

Sort of like Thanksgiving, I'm in a reflective mood today. I suppose that's one of the normal responses to anniversary milestones. In 2006, I did a number of very good and memorable things. One of the challenges is actually remembering all that has happened; most of you probably know that I will miss the majority but those that come to me later will probably make me smile none the less.

I returned to Illinois to help celebrate my Dad turning eighty, revisited the Grand Canyon, saw two NASCAR races in person, and visited Las Vegas and the Carolinas for the first time. I met Linda, walked thirteen miles for little more reason than to say we'd done it, rediscovered Drake athletics, visited the UNI dome for the first time, and found that I enjoy USHL hockey. I guess I earned my title of Time's Co-Person of the Year when I started this blog; you earned your share of that same title by reading it.

Fortunately, I didn't do it all last year; there's still plenty of great stuff to be done in '07. I hope that we'll have some even nicer memories in another year or so. Have a great New Year!