At my wedding in June I made a speech of sorts, drunkenly, with the ocean behind me and the tequila in front of me. I was still in the middle of a week in Cancun that ended up going about as perfectly as I could ever have hoped for. The speech, unprepared, most certainly off the top of my head, basically was my own version of the “I have a dream” speech, but much more selfish and having nothing to do with the good of mankind–well, almost nothing.
My dream centered on a trifecta of sorts that I was pretty certain at that point would happen, one being the birth of my baby, another the election of Barack Obama, and the third being a World Series victory by the Cubs. All were to occur in this great magical fall in which I turned an iconic age and would cement this year as the greatest year ever for me, so far.
As we now know, only one of those things let me down. It was the only thing that I had no control over whatsoever. The Cubs blew it. Apart from me getting on the field and hitting for Alfonso Soriano, the Cubs were doomed, as always. Good thing I left the Bears out of it. But that hardly matters now anyway.
I had a hell of a year. I got married, had a baby girl, and saw Barack Obama win the presidency. I’ll add to that the release–on vinyl–of my band’s record and the fun that went into that, including two choirs assembled (The Hoyne St. Legion of Doom Choir and The Prize Beagle State St. Choir), two fake protest photo shoots (in Logan Square and Humboldt Park), and the many guests and friends who helped us out on various instruments and devices.
I still haven’t figured out a lot of things but for once I feel like I can end the year and not bitterly throw it out. It didn’t totally suck! It was a pretty awesome year for me personally, and so thanks for that if you were with me. And: 23 days or so left before George Bush is no longer president! How much more can I ask for?