December 27th, 2013
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
NEW YEAR THOUGHTS FROM THE BAYOU STATE
Do you make New Year’s resolutions? I always do. A New Year always brings with it promise and uncertainty, but the coming year brings with it a greater foreboding than we have experienced in the past. I would rather be absorbed with the more mundane things in life. But that’s not going to happen in these especially turbulent times. However, I’m not about to give up hope.
One resolution I make each year is to maintain my curiosity. It doesn’t matter how limited your perspective or how narrow the scope of your surroundings, there is (or should be) something to whet your interest and strike your fancy. I discovered early on that there are two kinds of people — those who are curious about the world around them, and those whose shallow attentions are generally limited to those things that pertain to their own personal well-being. I just hope all those I care about fall into the former category.
Another resolution I make each year is to continue to hope. I hope for successful and fulfilling endeavors for my children, happiness and contentment for family and friends, and for the fortitude to handle both the highs and lows of daily living with dignity.
Each year, I ask my children to give me two gifts for Christmas. First, I ask them to make a donation to a charity that will help needy families in their community. And second, I ask them to re-read Night, the unforgettable holocaust novel by Elie Wiesel, the Nobel Peace laureate who survived the Nazi death camps. I have a Wiesel quote framed on my office desk: Continue Reading………….