This is it, believe it or not. My last column for 2016 and boy did that year fly by.
I better explain a little. Due to the fact that Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 fall on Sundays this holiday season, we are not publishing on those days.
Don’t worry, the regular publication schedule commences Jan. 4 and I’ll be back in this space Jan. 8, which gives me a full three weeks to come up with an idea.
Gee, should be able to come up with something by then, eh?
Those who know me know I’ll procrastinate until Jan. 6 at about 10 a.m. and proclaim to anyone who will listen (which is no one) – What the heck am I going to write about this week, folks?
But that’s next year’s problem.
The good news is I’m going to spare you the annual column about New Year’s resolutions and how my vow to get into shape never seems to materialize.
Gee, it could be tied into that procrastination thing don’t you think?
It’s funny I’m always bugging my kids about leaving their term papers for school until the last minute – and then I pause for a second.
I was way worse than them so who am I to talk?
Still, it’s my role as the parent to bug them about getting stuff done in a timely manner, in other words do as I say not as I do. Ahem.
It’s funny my oldest sent me a Ted Talk video the other day on procrastination that he confessed he watched while he should have been studying or starting a paper or…..
Anyway I finally watched it one day, ahem, and it made some good points about how procrastination keeps us from doing our best work when it comes to exams and papers etc. but when there’s no actual deadline involved it also keeps us from living a full and complete life.
True, very true. And something to ponder when I get the time. Double ahem.
The holiday season is also a time that procrastination catches you off guard.
Like one day soon I should get a tree and some presents and all that other stuff that comes before Dec. 25. Aha, a deadline.
It should be stated that newspaper journalists kind of instinctively react to deadlines and I’m afraid that occupational hazard plays out in the rest of my life, not that it wasn’t an issue before I got into this business so many years ago (no deadline? What’s the hurry?).
Anyway the point of all this navel gazing, and I do apologize it took this long to get to any semblance of a point, is that, ironically and thanks to deadlines once again, I’m wishing all Morning Star readers (the ones that gaze over this space anyways) an early Merry Christmas and an even earlier Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Now that that’s out of the way maybe I can get some shopping done, ha.
It’s been a way too interesting year what with Trump and Trudeau and all providing much more fodder for my theory, expressed more than a few times in this space – that we’re all winging it.
The problem is that, with Trump especially, it’s so blatantly obvious that he’s winging it.
That creates more than a little anxiety for too many of us that the most powerful man in the world is figuring it out as he goes but, then again like I said, we’re all winging it more than we would like to admit.
So, at this holiday time, I’m choosing to be optimistic and hope for the best in the new year. One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be interesting. Stay safe, take the time to actually enjoy the holiday season, and see you on the other side.
