F-O-R-W-A-R-D!

    Another holiday season… another new year! It’s time to pack away Christmas and look at where we are going from here.

    Ok, so you do have to look back a bit. 2011 was an all right year, I guess. But let’s look ahead at 2012. Many say that this is it for the world. The Mayans have this year as the end of time (add deep voice echo as this is read). But really, who knows?

   Let’s take a quick look at what will happen in 2012:

• The ship RMS Titanic will be gone for 100 years on April 15. In honor of this occasion, James Cameron is planning on a re-release of his blockbuster movie in 3D around the same date. Titanic in 3D? Does this theater have barf bags with the glasses?

• There will still be 3 seasons in my life – football, baseball, and that no-man’s land between the Super Bowl and Spring Training.

• I will plant flowers and veggies in my gardens this year. What will actually grow is anyone’s guess, since successful gardening in my neighborhood is both weather and deer dependent. I also predict that my friendly local Bambi will eat very well.

• The Baltimore Orioles will take the field at Camden Yards and I will still be a fan. No, I am not a champion of lost causes. I like baseball – live, local, and constantly changing. I will also follow the Phillies, the team of my birth city. I will attend the Phillies-Orioles game on June 10 at Camden Yards, again, as Schizo-fan – not sure who to support but knowing I will be happy no matter the outcome.

• When not at the Yard, I will be glued to the TV, desperately missing Mike Flannagan’s commentary on the games.

• I will resist the temptation to put my copy of Titanic on the computer, Orioles on the TV, start both at the same time, and see who goes down first. This is a family joke, as is my watching Titanic ad nauseum. My husband keeps waiting for a different outcome of the movie. The O’s, unfortunately, still have a similar record.

• There will be a Super Bowl game played in Indianapolis. Raymond Berry, a BALTIMORE Colt legend, will present the Lombardi Trophy to the winner of the game.

• I will more than likely lose my best buddy, Rusty. He’s my 18-year old dog that has defied all odds and 2 vets to get to this length of life.

• We will find out if the Mayan calendar is correct, or if the little mathlete who figured it all out just ran out of space on the wheel.

• Baltimore will have a difficult time finding a new “Voice of Reason”. I know I’m going to miss Ron Smith more and more as the election gets closer.

• We will have a Presidential election. And we will all be ticked off at all the candidates of all parties by the end of January, 2012. This is thanks to press over saturation.

• The Maryland General Assembly will start a 90-day session around January 11. I will be fed up with them by January 12.

    What I would really like to see happen in 2012:

• I’d love to see a book of mine in print. For real, for sale and for everyone.

• I’d love to see Buck’s Baltimore Boys go from worst to first and stay there the whole season, not just from game 1 to game 2. Hey, not so far out! Weirder things have happened in this town.

• I’d love to see a sea of orange and black in the stands when the Red Sox and Yankees are in town – just for spite. Boston and New York fans get cheaper deals at Camden Yards than in their own home parks. We Birdlanders must stop that!!!

• I’d love to see BALTIMORE Colt great Raymond Berry present the Lombardi Trophy to the BALTIMORE RAVENS in Indianapolis, home of the current 2-14 Colts. Take that, Messrs. Irsay and Tagliabue.

• I’d love to see those elected to the White House and Congress realize they have a temp job, a service job, and it’s something they need to actually do on a daily basis. I’d also like to see them all stop kissing press butt and going only for face time.

• I’d love to see the voters of this country actually think for themselves. Pundits are great and can shed light on specific issues. Talking heads serve their purpose putting candidates on the spot. Jon Stewart can always put a humorous spin on events in the news. We the People, however, need to watch, look, learn, and then ignore 9/10’s of the soundbites. We need to make our own decisions and not follow the crowd.

• I’d love to see more public gardens, arboretums and conservatories – as a tourist, that is.

• I’d love to see the Harry Potter Exposition come back to the US, close to DC if possible.

• I’d love the see the face on the Mayan mathlete who did the calendar when the dawn of December 22, 2012 arrives. Will he be saying “Ooopss” or “Told you! I just ran out of room”?

    Wow! Who knew there was so much to look forward to in 2012? And this is just the big stuff. That doesn’t count the daily aches, pains and other activities we all go through.

So here’s to 2012! Let’s raise a glass of your favorite adult beverage (let’s go Natty Boh) and toast the New Year. To the O’s! To the Ravens! To our dreams!

    To making it count!