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2006
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The Best and the Worst of 2006
January 2, 2007

I showed up at work today surprised to discover I was the only person there. Deceased former President Ford finally gave us something we can all thank him for; a day off. Thanks, Gerald. It doesn’t excuse your pardon of Richard Nixon, but I for one will stop picking on you publicly for that one-time indiscretion. This gives me some free time to reflect on the best and worst events in my life for the year 2006.

The Best

After all these years, I was able to attend a STOMP concert. It was mesmerizing, enchanting, thoroughly entertaining and left me wishing I could take every one of my friends and co-workers to see the concert. Without reservation, I recommend STOMP to everyone at any age.

My daughter’s gift for my birthday was a whirlwind vacation trip to SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, and Busch Gardens in Florida. It was a fantastic vacation but the standout was our day at Discovery Cove in Orlando. We got to swim with a dolphin and interact with a variety of unusual birds in the best aviary I've ever visited. This birthday topped them all.

The Chicago & Huey Lewis and the News tour came to Charlotte and Raleigh. In my haste to order tickets, I goofed and accidentally purchased tickets for the concerts in both cities. That turned out to be a very fortunate accident. Both concerts were definitely “All That.” Chicago still has it and Huey does rock-and-roll better than any artist alive (or dead).

My addiction to stand-up comedy brought me to the Carlos Mencia show in Raleigh. Carlos is probably the best and brightest comedian of this decade. I was so sore from laughing during the concert, I had to take aspirin for two days afterwards. If you don’t agree that Carlos is the best contemporary comedian around, then go to your keyboard and press the “D” key three times in rapid succession. Now watch Mind of Mencia on TV, or a Carlos Mencia DVD to understand what you just did.

My car didn’t break down this year (third year running); Uncle Sam gave me a tax refund; the Showtime Pro rotisserie I bought actually works as advertised; and the Republicans learned the penalty for supporting a president who continually lies to the American public. There are other contenders for my “best” list, but these are the ones that stand out the most for me.

The Worst

My freshest memory of a disaster in 2006 is the Piper-Heidsieck champagne we drank on New Year’s eve. The French are exploring new depths of consumer torture. Even though the Piper-Heidsieck was the worst of 2006, it was not the worst of all time. That distinction is held by the Dom Perignon we drank on New Year’s eve 2005. Imagine drinking dirty sponge water blended with with lead-contaminated vinegar and essence of rotten cork. Either the French have forgotten the art of quality champagne production or they are still trying to punish us for Bush’s unjustified invasion of Iraq. In either case, I’m switching to the Italian-made Asti Spumanti for future New Year’s eve festivities. New Year’s eve is supposed to be fun.

My Casio watch finally gave up the ghost after five years of dedicated service and my daughter’s iPod followed suit within weeks (just after the warranty expired). We didn’t finish painting the deck, our home heater broke down during a cold spell and a neighborhood cat murdered a helpless bird at our wildlife feeding station. I predict swift retribution.

All-in-all, I’d say the “best” outnumbered the “worst.” That means 2006 was good to me and I can’t wait to see if Sondra can top my 2006 birthday gift in 2007. I sincerely hope 2006 was good to all of my readers.

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