I didn’t get much done this year and so I’m not sorry to see it end. According to my first blog (“The Celestial Smooth”) I began the year watching “The Full Monty,” a dark comedy about a group of unemployed steel workers who become strippers. The movie ends with the men exposing themselves to an audience filled with cheering women as a line of policemen prepare to arrest them.
For just one moment they are triumphant. But you know … there could never be a believable sequel. These are ordinary men, not Chippendale models.
In all, I managed to post 65 times this year. I’d say half of the posts are rather short on words and long on photos. My most “liked” post was about the raccoon who had her babies in a drain under the deck. That’s the second time raccoons and their shenanigans have taken over my blog.
February and March were lost months blog-wise. Family came to visit and their stay was stressful. My most viewed post during those months was about obituaries. I see a lot of dead people these days.
In April I shattered a filling on a Jordan Almond requiring an emergency visit to the dentist. His first question was: “How are you other than falling apart?”
In August I decided to post snippets from the sequel to Flipka, my first novel. Eleven posts which only a few of you were kind enough to comment on. I was sad but perhaps, like “The Full Monty,” that book could have no believable sequel.
September rolled along and with it the long lost contractor we’d hired back in March to fix the retaining wall and drainage in the front of our house. A job projected to take a week took over a month and, despite repeated assurances, his men managed to find and break both the water and gas lines. Imagine that? They could handle the water line but the gas line breakage required visits from the fire department, sirens blaring, and the gas company. A new gas line, a new gas meter. Road blocked for gigantic gas truck. Neighbors upset. And what did the sheepish contractor say: yadiyadi, yadiyadi, whine, whine, I have to pay a fine, whine whine.
In October I took a break and flew to Hawaii. Oahu seems to be getting more and more crowded which is sad but there’s something eternal about the South Pacific, isn’t there?
Let’s not talk about November and here we are in December, trying to be merry and bright. Me, mostly failing. So, I’ve decided on New Year’s Day I’m going to watch a movie with a believable sequel. Any suggestions? The only one I can think of is “The Return of the King” (part three of “The Lord of the Rings”). Good prevails and the evil ring of power is thrown into the fires of Mordor.
Ah, if we could be so lucky!
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Saying nothing in particular 
I am sorry that you have had such a bad year… I have enjoyed reading your posts and the experts from your books..
You have over come a lot… You are walking well and you have survived the workmen! All I can say is let’s home 2025 could be a better year! ….
lets hope we could have another hero?
Sending love and hugs 💜💜
Thank you Willow – you’ve definitely been one of my angels this year! ❤️
Here to next year 💜🥰
Did a quick search for sequels better than the original. There are quite a few. Often, though it’s the 3rd of 4th down the line.
For a moment in 2024 I had heard that Apophis was going to thread the keyhole in 2036 and then have a higher chance of striking Earth a few years later. Yay! I thought, something to live for. But, that’s been proven false and that asteroid won’t come back into the picture for 100 years. Bummer.
2024, marked the last cat’s death freeing my wife and I from servitude. We got to travel a bit. Nothing adventurous, but it was a start. Just gotta keep future pets off the table.
2025 is gonna be a watershed year, me thinks, like a continental divide, the reasonable, rational Left flows down this side, the psychotic, toxic Right down the other.
I know what you mean about pets! I don’t think our cat’s ever going to cross the rainbow bridge. I agree about 2025. We got troubles.
Some years definitely have more downs than ups. It was like that for me this year mostly because of family issues/stresses. I don’t see them going away in 2025 unfortunately. But I’ll make the best of what I can–what choice do I have?
Definitely the family issues were the most painful.
Happy Holidays. Blessings to you!
Thank you Suzette! Happy Holidays to you as well! Hope it’s a stressful, magical time!
Should have been a stress-free, magical time! Sorry!!!
Thank you JT! Peace to you!
Lord of the Rings is a good one. Not sure if you’re into movies like Jason Bourne or John Wick, but the sequels were excellent. My go-to movie (or series) is Band of Brothers. I can’t just watch the first episode—I need to watch all of them back-to-back. So, if I want to watch them, I’ll do it on a weekend. I really enjoyed your Hawaii post. It brought back such good memories of when I was stationed there.
Thank you – I haven’t watched the John Wicks but I loved the Bournes – at least those starring Matt Damon!
Like it or not, The Thin Red Line is a sequel to From Here to Eternity. A few of the same characters, but with different names, same James Jones Army company, but now in combat, and like Eternity, it is a long line of character studies. Both set in war, but the fighting takes a backseat to who the men and women are and how they live under stress. Why is Line a better film? Terrence Malick and his unexpected beautiful images. Duke
I don’t think I’ve ever seen The Thin Red Line – I’ll give it a try.
I’ve never seen From Here to Eternity, and did not know that Thin Red Line was a sequel. I’m not generally a big fan of war movies, but Thin Red Line is amazing, I wholeheartedly second this endorsement.
Do you know the story of how James Jones became a writer? It’s a trip. Google it if you don’t know. Duke
Also, this post would be remiss without mention of Goldfinger, which came immediately after the hit Dr No. And many critics believe Goldfinger is far and away the best Bond movie of the 639 Bond movies. I agree. Duke
Ah, if only we could be so lucky!
I’m not a movie buff, so I haven’t got any recommendations. Except for Stranger than Fiction, with Emma Thomas, Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, it’s loads of fun. It’s not meant to have a sequel, but I’d watch one, just to stay in that world for another two hours.
I hope you catch a break ’25!
I don’t think I’ve seen that movie – but could go for a feel good movie – it’s been cold and dark out here. I hope we all catch a break in 2025.
Did you see the Before… series of movies? Before Sunrise is wonderful and sweet, then Before Sunset things get a little more real, then Before Midnight gets even more real. I really like them all.
Also, the Star Trek films…the first one was really bad, and then the 2nd one was great. Not that your novel was bad, so not a good analogy.
If you Google James Jones War Trilogy you will find, From Here to Eternity, The Thin Red Line, and Whistle. The first two focus on how Army officers use enlisted men to further their own careers, while Whistle is about the enlisted men who are wounded and what they go through in hospitals and hometowns. Taken together they offer a heartbreaking rebuttal to the idea/myth of heroes. In my opinion, the human species has a hardwiring problem and war is a constant consequence. The leaders of nation states use war to remain in power and expand the territory and wealth of their respective nations. We have a genetic hardwiring problem, plus we don’t know how to handle “freedom”. We much prefer for some political leader to make the hard decisions for us and often that means war and internal divisions and so off we go to right a wrong or destroy a threat or take back what was once ours. There is no answer and pacifists do as much damage as the war monger. We live to kill or be killed and there is not much anyone can do about it and I’m afraid, given our technology, our days are numbered. Jones understood those ideas and he has been roundly criticised for the honesty of his books included vulgar language and homosexual story lines and the less than honorable conduct of officers. Oh well, thanks. Duke
I don’t quite know where 2024 has gone. but as I get older I think of myself as a toilet roll – the nearer I get to the end, the quicker it runs out.
Life is like a rollercoaster, lots of ups and downs, but you survived 2024 and will go on to conquer 2025, too. Blog when you want to blog rather than forcing yourself to do it. There are many readers (including me) who will always be here for you. I’ve enjoyed your Wordless Wednesday posts. Photography can be like your life is stepping through a window that looks out on something new.
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year, Jan.
xx
Hi Jan – what a year it has been. The world is a more and more unstable in so many different ways. Liz and I are doing pretty well in an amazing village called Rockport, in the very vibrant MidCoast of Maine. I wish you the best and hope you can give yourself a break, and know that so many of us are with you. BE well and may 2025 be a year of resitance, planting seeds of community and love in our world.
I’m so delighted that you guys are enjoying Maine. It wasn’t a horrible year personally – I just wish I’d gotten more accomplished. I guess I was in shock that this country was once again bamboozled by such evil and hatred but now it’s done.
thanks for visiting my site. I would be thrilled if you’d write a guest blog post for my site. If you think it might be fun or helpful to have my followers (who total about 10k across my various social media) meet you, here’s the link for general guidelines:
Ah, Jan, I also find that readers are not that interested in extracts from my books. It is always disappointing as we slave over them. I am not working on any novels current but stick to poetry, children’s books and short stories which I enjoy and which aren’t such a massive undertaking for not that much return. I’m not sure if people are reading less or if it’s just too many books being published. I think a mixture of both. Anyhow, I would go with Lord of the Rings, a wonderful story and I wish you a very merry Christmas. Hugs.
Happy holidays to you and yours, Jan. Years come and go, with ups and downs. Let’s remember the ups. The raccoon family was definitely better than the contractor. And Hawaï? I suspect you liked it more than you admit.
My very best wishes for 2025.
(OMG. Already 25 years into the century?) 😳
I just love that movie.
Me too.