Finally the end of a year that has truly been nothing special

In 2013 ...

... I found myself wondering if the entire United States of America had jumped the shark.

Tom Hanks in "Cloud Atlas"

... I saw the best movie I've seen in more than 10 years, the Wachowskis' amazing "Cloud Atlas," a movie so complex you might call it the "Finnegan's Wake" of movies.

... I waited vainly all year for Republicans in Congress to say something that made any sense.

... I spent more time missing the various people who matter to me than I did seeing them.

... Except for being in the room when someone else was watching something, I didn't spend one minute on live television.

... For the second year of the last three, I didn't make it to even one baseball game all season.

... Weird coincidences? I ordered a used book from Amazon.com. When it came it was a book that had been in the public library in the tiny town of Pacific Grove, Calif. The only other thing I know about Pacific Grove is that my former sister-in-law lives there. Huh.

... People magazine named someone the sexiest man in the world, as it does every year, and I had never heard of the guy they chose.

... I started adding to my small collection of autographed baseballs by shopping on eBay, and just as my lovely wife got hooked on Jewelry Television earlier in the year, I became a ferocious eBay buyer.

... I even bought a baseball autographed by someone famous who never played, managed or wrote about the game. She was a pretty good actress, though.

... I didn't play much golf, and as a result my game went all to hell. Two years ago I was breaking 80 and now it's a struggle to break 90.

... I spent a lot of time missing my children, although Skype helped a lot with that and I got to see my two grandchildren grow.

... I became more acerbic in my comments on Internet sites, particularly Facebook, and less tolerant of posts I considered to be out-and-out false. I did, however, find two or three conservative commenters I developed a healthy amount of respect for, particularly Loren Piller. He was a year behind me in high school, although I didn't know him.

Lexington and Madison

... We didn't travel much this year, although the 10 days we spent in Jamaica were such a wonderful opportunity to see our grandchildren up close and personal. I'm still trying to figure out how my dark-haired daughter and her red-haired husband have such beautiful blonde kids.

... Lexington makes me feel stupid. I'm 64 years old and have never really been able to learn a second language. He's 2 and is basically bilingual.

... When it comes to music, I always enjoy finding something I like that was actually recorded in this century. This year I found three different acts -- classical singer Jackie Evancho (who not only records in this century but was born in this century), Fountains of Wayne and Spock's Beard. "We made a land where crap is king and the good don't last too long."

... It's ridiculous that we're less than one year into President Obama's second term and everyone is talking about 2016. No one other than Hillary Clinton passes the smell test at this point, and she will be 69 years old on election day.

... My son Virgile and his wife Sterling recently got a dog. I'm really happy for Virgile; it has been 12 years since he lost his beloved black Lab Maggie. I think he's ready.

... And so am I. I am very ready for 2013 to be finished in a little more than five hours. My beloved wife Nicole had three surgeries this year, two on her spine and one on her foot. She has been in pain the entire year, and 2014 almost has to be better.

... Happy New Year to all.