Entry Sixty-Four.
Monday, 2007.12.31, 5:35 PM CST.
End of 2007:  At least we lost Anna Nicole.

Well, it has been the end of a year of tremendous happiness, as well as tremendous sadness.

Here's a brief rundown of the "plusses" of the year:

- I got married to Lanna in January.
- I welcomed my first child, my son X, in April.
- Lanna and I bought a house in June.

And now, the losses of the year:

- My mother (one of my greatest friends) died in July.
- I lost my day job in July (10 days before my mother died).
- Mike Selvaggi, owner of Mario's Pizza, died in November.
- My family's old swimming pool was dismantled/removed.
- My old high school building was torn down.
- The RSC/RSU Post House was torn down.
- Bell's Amusement Park was torn down.
- The former 71st + Memorial Grandy's building was torn down.
- The Camelot Hotel was torn down (well, for the most part).

Maybe it's kind of stupid to be so sensitive about old buildings and landmarks that I valued when I was younger, and to form such attachments with long-gone businesses... but that's how I am.  I'm basically a person made out of memories, and it hurts when those memories lose their physical manifestation.

It hurts even more when a person I cherish becomes a memory.

Here's to a much better, much brighter year in 2008.  God knows I need it.  Happy New Year's Eve, everybody.

- Badger