HAPPY NEW YEAR PULLMAN!

It is funny how one revolution of the Earth around the sun is cause for so much celebration. I guess if you want to get heavy, the whole concept of time and age is all based on this idea that the Earth is in constant motion, in a circular pattern, in space, around a ball of fire. Why did I turn Thirty-Two years-old two weeks ago? Because someone defined a year as the revolution of the Earth around the sun. What if we never defined a year a such? What if we kept track of our life in terms of days? A day is a very noticeable thing - sun goes up, sun goes down. Though it would be hard to remember your age. As it is right now I tend to forget how old I am from time to time. When I was younger I knew my age down to the faction of a year. As a little boy you could hear me say "I am seven and a quarter years old". Today a quarter of a year just does not seem to matter.

Anyway, I am done with my tangent now. I want to start of by wishing everyone a Happy New Year. Hmm. Another tangent here... I remember back in 1994 when Newt Gingrich was the man -- I was telling everyone Happy Newt Year!

It has a been a good year. I would like to think that each year has its own greatness, but you should always be able to look back and say I am better off this year than last. You should always be able to say that you have been learning new things. Growing both in love for each other and love for life. Though I find more aches and pains than I have in the past. I have also noticed they do not heal as fast as they use to however, that is a small price to pay for wisdom.

I can look back and see many great new things that has happened that made my life better. The company I work for allowed me to work-from-home part of the month. That meant I did not have to drive to Pullman from Renton and back each and every weekend. I had been doing that for 14 months and it was getting old. That was about 30,400 extra miles that I put on my 2004 Dodge RAM.

Being in Pullman allowed me to get my radio show back on KZUU. That is how I met Tom. And with any luck this coming month everyone can hear Tom and I on the air each and every week. I was able to work some of the jobs that I love to work that I was unable to work because of being in Renton. I love being in Pullman and I missed it.

I have understood one of Pullman's problems for many years. That problem is being eight miles from Idaho. Idaho is not a bad place, that is not what I am saying. But as far as the economy goes, many Pullmanites drive the eight miles to Moscow to do shopping. That takes the badly needed tax-base with it. New construction is helping. New businesses both downtown and on the edge of town will help. Zeppoz has expanded. SEL is building new buildings. I believe that Wal-Mart will be built and we will see a windfall of taxes coming into the city. With Pullman being a destination, rather than a by-pass on the way to Moscow, other business will want to locate here.

Hogwash? Want proof? Look at the area around the Mall in Moscow. There has been a lot of stores moving in around the mall. It is a destination. Businesses want to be together. I have no doubt that is why the Lowe's complex that is being talked about is looking at building near there as well. I believe 2006 will be a great year for Pullman and its growth is coming on the heal of a great 2005.

On a personal level one of my favorite New Years activities is to go through my personal blog and choose one paragraph from an entry from each month of the year. I look for an entry that was a life changing or direction-in-life-changing event and I include the paragraph that best represents that change.

This year has been a good one. I am happy to have lived it and I cannot wait to see what 2006 has in store for me.