A Long December

As I sit here polishing off this bottle of wine, I am reminded that today is December 13 - a Friday the 13th, too, if you need to go there - and of course, December's constant reminder is that shitty Counting Crows song (were there any other kinds of Counting Crows songs?  Be honest) "A Long December." I don't remember many of the words of this song, nor how it goes, but I do remember "December" being in the title.

I think the speaker in that song sits down with someone at some point "to talk about the year." I think there was some line about the smell of hospitals in winter, which is kind of weird since hospitals pretty much smell the same way all year. Perhaps they knew something that I didn't. Now that I think about it, the 90s had a lot of songs about December. Didn't Collective Soul have a huge hit simply called "December?" If I recall correctly, that tune was as incomprehensible as the Counting Crows song.

But as 2013 draws to a close, let me look back...

(Dream sequence begins, and Dave scratches his head deep in thought...2013 was pretty eventful...it began with me coming back from England with my new wife...a master's degree...three published poems...acceptance into several MFA programs...performance at a literary conference...another year with good friends...got really good at Words with Friends...the kids are all good...actually, I got great at Words with Friends...Rays made the playoffs...no hurricanes...no Counting Crows records...damn, my company was even profitable...solid, man, a solid year.)

...and look ahead...

After Dick Clark's untimely demise (untimely? Yeah, he was like 250 when he died so maybe I should find a better word), I don't really celebrate New Year's Eve as intently. It's not the same. I asked Marta to marry me at 12:01 on 1/1/12, but only after I got Ryan Seacrest's approval to do it on NYE. But there is a spirit of rebirth that comes with the calendar flipping over and a new year beginning. I'm looking forward to it - despite the milestone birthday that lies ahead - and I'll open the year studying poetry, writing it, and learning it.

How was your year? I hope your 2013 was as good as mine. And I hope our 2014 is even better.