It was a bad year. An awful year. One of the worst I've known, and I've seen a good sight more than most of ye, I 'ave.

Aye. Good riddance to a bad 'un, says I. An' may we ne'er see its like again.

The best of the bad: some good parties. The love of a good woman. The burnin' of The Man, and the burnin' of the Waffle. Watchin' some fine young'uns make their way toward bein' proper little menaces to proper society, guitar-slingers and truthspeakers and all.

The worst and most memorable bits of the year would hardly be fit for the tender blogreadin' eyes of such as ye, and ye'd thank me not to mention 'em, and so that's all I'll be sayin' about that.

I know now a good sight more'n I did when the year was new about Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Black Rock City, Greenville, Kosmos, hospitals, Kaihea, and her kin. And I may be so bold as to say they know a bit more of m'self than they did, and not all of it bad, and along the way I've had the honor to make the acquaintance of some right true men & women. Mayhaps the year to come will feature better days, smoother cruises and the like with many of 'em; I daresay I'd be a grateful soul if'n they did.

But it was a bad year, devil take it, it's left some of us scarred and depleted, and may we ne'er see its like again, says I.