Letters from NYC

Predictions and Wishes

This entry was written on Christmas day 2004 and posted today.

2004 General Predictions that came true:
• Republicans would gain control of Congress.
• Michael Moore’s movie would cause an anti-liberal backlash.
• Al Qaeda would rear it’s ugly head more forcefully in the Middle East and would expand it’s targets to also kill Muslims.
• In September I predicted that Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw would announce their retirement by year’s end.
• There would be record numbers of voters casting ballots in this year’s election.
• Most of Bush’s cabinet would leave if he was re-elected except for Rumsfeld.

General Predictions for 2005:

• The Iraqi elections will be one of the bloodiest pre-election periods you have ever seen.
  
• Bush will have his brother Jeb gain more prominence by appointing him to head up task forces or committees.
  
• Popular bloggers will cut back on frequency of blogging seeking to return to experience life in real time rather than blogging about life’s potential experiences.
  
• Bush will try to appoint a quasi-conservative judge to the Supreme Court and win.
  
• Viewers will become tired of reality shows and viewer ratings will reflect this.
  
• The economy will go back to the bullish place we were at prior to 9/11.
  
• We will have a mild winter followed by a very hot summer in the northeast.

Personal Wishes for 2005:
For the first time in my life I couldn’t think of any wishes for an upcoming year other than good health, much happiness, inner peace and prosperity. Every year for the past 19 years I’ve made a formal list, a sort of goals for the year. For the first 15 of those years I always managed to make most of my wishes come true. Even in 2001 I managed to have more than half my list fulfilled prior to 9/11. Since then my lists are simpler and shorter. This year, some my list is not about anything I want or need. I’m at a place where what I would truly want – my friends to be alive – is something that I’ve come to terms with. I’ve accomplished all but 4 things that I wanted to accomplish with my life. The list was long when I started out. I no longer want material possessions or status. Unbelievably this year has been about letting go of my grief and learning to live again, this time without my friends who were there for my 19 years. I am finally at a place of peace. Although, there are two wishes that I know my deceased friends would want for me:
• for me to make new friends
• for me to find love again

As for my focus, this year I have humbler yet more complex expectations: