My first New Year’s Day entry.  Happy New Year to everyone.

We were up late last night, celebrating in our own family way- party at a local skating rink for the kids, dinner and movie for me and my wife, then ringing in the New Year at home on the couch.  Got to bed around 2:00 A.M.  Kind of different from what I used to do, what we used to do, when we were younger.  Still, very special in its own special way.

What did you do?  Did you have fun?

Drove home from the skating rink in a mini-blizzard.   Got home and went out to shovel enough snow for the dogs to go out.  Did the same thing this morning.  Have to go out in awhile and do the heavy snow removal.  I have a machine to help with that.

While I’m out throwing snow my wife will be frantic to get the Christmas  decorations taken down and packed away for another year.  I have no idea when we’ll be able to get the outside stuff taken in- a lot of that is staked to the ground and maybe also wire-tied to a tree (we have a lot of wind where we live).  Sad time of year when it all gets packed away.

I turned the lights of the tree on a final time just to look and remember.  When I was younger, in  high school I believe, I used to lay in front of the tree by myself, late at night, staring at the lights and just thinking or maybe not thinking at all.  There was always some sort of music playing- maybe some Christmas songs, maybe a radio station, maybe a new album spinning on the turntable.  It was such a somber, private time.  These lights on this tree remind me a bit of those long-ago moments.

I have no particular predictions for this coming year, only hopes and prayers.  The ones for me and my family I will keep to myself at least for now.

I hope and pray that this will be the year of the American Spirit, the year when we finally all, or at least many of us, wake up and realize what trouble we are really in.  I pray that the people will again focus on what is right and what is needed to somehow get us at least started toward getting back on track.

It seems to me that where all this needs to come from is local in nature- in the home, with the family, at our schools, in our churches, at our gathering places, wherever we meet to discuss what is important to us as individuals and as free and proud Americans.  For me this means to write as much as possible to get my feelings, my messages out to at least a few folks- they can hopefully take it from there.  I can’t do much but I can do a little and maybe help to effect a little bit of a change in the hearts and minds of others elsewhere who are perhaps ready to do something but just don’t know what. 

I want a better America, one that gets back a lot closer to its constitutional and founding roots, for my family, for my kids and their generation.

America- first we need to learn what’s what, we need to wise up; then we need to decide what needs to be done and then get to work getting it done.  We need to get up from our couches and get to work.  Once we have managed to wise up then we need to rise up and inspire others to do the same.  Are we up to the task?  Think that we really can’t lose our country?  Think that pernicious even if well-intended socialism cannot happen or, if it does, cannot destroy us?  Better check your history my friends, better get wise in a hurry.

This needs to be the year.  Make 2014 the year.  Do it for your kids, do it for your grandkids, do it for your forebears who never, ever, wanted any of this for the country they loved.  In then end though, at least do it for yourself.  Make 2014 the year. 

And please stay tuned.

Happy New Year to you and those you love.