The Fog...

   

    It was really freaky creepy foggy here this morning.  It was the kind of stifling blanket of gray that brings a certain tranquility to the world around me, and considering life has been somewhat noisy as of late, I had to grab my things and scamper out into the world to soak up a little silence --just me and the fog. 

    I don't know about you, but I think long walks in the fog really do a lot to help get one's thoughts in order.  There's a definite isolation to wandering around in the pea-soup fog.  I find the peace and quiet pleasant and certainly a welcome escape from the clamor of the busy holidays.  And, since tomorrow's the start of New Year's Eve, I think this might be the last truly remarkably silent day of 2006.


    One of the perks with living where I do is the nice, big park just a hop, skip and a jump down the road (and yes.  It does have more than ONE tree).  It runs along Lake Michigan up to the city of Milwaukee, and when the fog rolls in, it comes in with a weight that can be heavy, dense and almost suffocating.  And, considering this is December in Wisconsin, normally this sort of fog would cover every surface with a thick veneer of ice to cripple the city.  However, it's warm today, there's no wind, and the sun is just a dismal, weak disk of light hanging upon a bleak canvas of gray.   If anything, this is the sort of weather I'd expect on any morning in late May rather than the second to last day of 2006. 
     

    Now, obviously, a stroll in the park this close to New Year's Eve wouldn't be complete without my mind bouncing back upon the last year.  And, it's been a fun year for the most part.  I started this journal in February without any real notion as to where it would take me.  And, like a foggy road winding its way through a very silly world, I still can't see where the hell it's taking me, but it is fun, and there have been some wild, rollicking laughs along the way. 

    I suppose I could go back and scour the archives and mountain of words that comprise this silly place to pick out the "best and the brightest posts" of the past year; however, the ones I like are probably not the ones you like and vice-versa.  So, I will simply leave you to find your favorites, and, perhaps in your searching, you might find some new ones. 


    As for 2007, I have no idea what the year ahead has in store for me.  As some of you know from reading around here, I am writing a novel, and I hope to have it finished by June.  It's been a heck of a lot fun writing it so far, but after writing myself into a metaphorical corner, I decided that I needed to step away for a time to recharge whatever creative batteries I may have.  I am certainly going to need them since my protagonist is sitting in a jail-cell waiting for me to figure out just how in the hell to bust him out.  He's trapped in lock-down while I've been sitting with my feet up enjoying this thing called life.   Poor bastard.  But, when it's finished, trust me, you will be the first to know. 
      
   
    Anyway, I'm pretty much just babbling at this point since it's the end of the year, and I feel like I've not shut my noisy mouth for months and months.  Plus, I need these word things in this entry to make the layout look nice.  But, I think you all have heard enough of my prattling noise this year, haven't you? 

    So, I hope you like the pictures.  If you'd like to see the full-size (or fuller size), I have them stored on  a Flickr photostream.  If you want to see the life size, well, get a plane ticket to Milwaukee, and I'll drag you to the park with me.  Hopefully, I can somehow keep that Flickr thing kind of organized.  On the other hand, I'm so organized, I keep my cans of cat food next to my cans of other things, and on more than one occasion, I've opened a can of Fancy Feast when I was making tuna salad. 

    I've told you many times that I was dumb and stuff. 
   
    Aside from that, my last resolution of '06 is to actually do Scalzi's Weekend Assignment.  I may get to it tonight since I am staying inside like a good boy and saving myself for tomorrow.  What can I say?  I'm old, and as much as I really have this itch to go out and tear it up like a frat-boy tonight, I know there's a pretty good chance that if I do go out, my liver will divorce me in the middle of the night and take the first Greyhound to Utah where it would probably be a lot better off.

    Anyway, enjoy the Saturday.

-DP  

Tags: DPoem, The Wisdom of a Distracted Mind, Grant Park, John Scalzi isn't the only one who can make crazy tags