I don't mean to go off on a rant here ...
... so I won't.
Look - I promise to get back to my crotchety grumbly self next week (and one day, my transformation into Ed Asner will be complete), but it's the New Year. The world isn't going to end if I decide to rave instead of rant today (instead, it will end when the magnetic poles swap places a few days before Christmas, 2012 in a Y2K reprise, right?). In the spirit of 2011, here are my 11 Raves (in alphabetical order) from the past year ...
1.) BONNIE HUNT may have ended her talk show, but she did it with class. What a tribute to take those five hours that we once spent with her weekly to embrace and promote the "humanity" that she highlighted on her mission.
2.) CHER was locked up in Vegas in an eternal cycle of saying farewell, but promises new artistic output in the years ahead (and it's already passe to pick on Burlesque in your critical 2010 lists, so move on). In the meantime, she continues to put her support behind essential movements like Operation Helmet for our IED exposed troops overseas.
3.) CHRIS L had the good sense to wait for his artery to collapse until he was on the table with the doctor conducting an angiogram. Now that's a sense of timing worth raving about (p.s. thanks for not dying)!
4.) CHRIS W was my boss and guided me through a major transition at work that upheld his stated goal of being someone who took great pride in developing his employees as people. And although it's currently review season, he is not a FB friend (so I'm not brown-nosing here) as he has strong opinions about the separation of work and non-work (and he embraces that LinkedIn phenomenon that I backed out of). Apparently, I have a bit of an anti-authoritarian streak, so his support was even more valued in a year where "trust us, we have your best interests in mind" was the mantra.
5.) HOLLY A, a high school classmate of mine who now lives in Orlando, is involved in an organization that fulfills the final wishes of people from all walks of life. She takes on their issues, their illnesses, their dreams and spins it all into happiness and pleasant memories, all the more essential because those memories won't be lasting a lifetime. Selfless and a hero ... she's a shining example for us all.
6.) My LINCOLN PARK TEAM at the Kaplan center where I worked for most of this year (and the last few years of this decade) rallied around our goals in this same year of work transformation I referenced earlier and made our center the best place to be. I might be biased, but I am not naive -- and I know that our successes in 2010 were because so many people rallied to our cause. For that, I am most grateful.
7.) MAYOR DALEY was the only mayor of Chicago I've known since I've lived here (which makes sense as he's just surpassed his father in longevity), and it's hard to imagine the next chapter ahead. I can only hope that his successor will have the ability to keep this city of competing interests, backgrounds and responsibilities together for all of its citizens.
8.) MYSTERY is truly gone but not forgotten, to quote my Monday shtick, having been euthanized this past March (two years to the day after my pit bill Demon was put down). She would bolt at the first sign of unknown noise and she would hide for hours on end until she was convinced the vacuum would not come back to life. But she was also right there over my shoulder on the couch in the evenings, she was a welcome pillow to the other cats in the apartment that wanted to snuggle with her and she most definitely left us too soon.
9.) RALPH N is my father, and he's now confined to a nursing home. Mind you, I've always said that there's a generation canyon that separates us (he was born in 1923 and I came along in 1972) and I don't have any type of typical relationship with him. But now that I'm responsible for his affairs, I've been forced to reconnect with him in a very unique way. I already know that I will never have all of the answers that I seek -- but I'm learning things each month of his final years and gaining perspective that I never thought I'd have. I thank him for teaching me that there is an infinite world of greys in this life I thought was black and white.
10.) WALTER and DOLLY L are the heroes of the year for my "family". Welcoming to me since 1998, I've been privileged to watch them devote their post-retirement years to their children and grandchildren in ways they never could have imagined. Project after project, they tirelessly contribute to keeping their brood taken care of, and, as they age, even at the risk of their own health. It's an honor to know such helpful folks.
11.) YOU -- if you've made it to the end of this post, that means you are a regular reader of mine. And I can't thank you enough for your support during this experiment in getting back into swimming in the creative pool. I don't know where this journey is taking me, but I look forward to continuing it and sharing it one bit of randomness at a time.
May 2011 bring you and yours the type of blessings that I've recently experienced!
OPERATION HELMET SAVES OUR SOLDIERS' LIVES:
http://www.operation-helmet.org/contribute.html
THE DREAM FOUNDATION:
http://www.dreamfoundation.org/
PAYING IT FORWARD:
http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2009/04/17/lifestyle/features/teaming-bonnie-hunt.html
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