They say you can't tell where you're going unless you know where you've been. I think we would all agree that we don't want to go back and relive 2008 in regard to the economy. It was a good year if you experienced the birth of a child, if your daughter or son got married, if you got a good report on your annual physical, if you contracted your corn at $7 or if you somehow won the big bingo at the local legion club.

If you had money in the stock market, well let's just say we can't wait to get into 2009. I experienced a number of firsts this year, some better than others. My doctor finally prescribed blood pressure and cholesterol pills for me after my 62 years of narrowly avoiding them. I guess you could view this in both positive and negative ways, but I'm trying to be positive in thinking that my wife seems to want to keep me around for awhile longer and is making sure I don't forget to take the little pills once a day.

My wife and I closed our small retail department store this year. It was a tough decision, but who ever said business was easy? After selling shirts, shoes and scissors for more than 30 years, it was time to try something else and we are having fun discovering life after the clothing business. It's really not so bad.

This was the first year in many that I did not get the chance to venture out to South Dakota in pursuit of a rooster pheasant. Weather and business timing just didn't match up this year, and my black lab seemed rather melancholy through the fall. She seemed to sense that she should really be charging through the cattail swamps and through the high grass in heated chase.

Next year will be different, I hope. The lab echoes my sentiments I'm sure.

I had a banner year of potato production from our garden. More than 600 pounds of the tubers sit in the fall-out shelter awaiting their fate on the lefse grill or in the oven. The great potato god must have smiled down on our little plot and blessed it. I get no greater thrill than to sink my potato fork into the sod and come up with 10 big russet potatoes. No one hears me cheer out there in the dirt, but I do.

Some folks make resolutions at this time of year. I've long since given up on that futile exercise. My meek attempts at losing weight, getting more exercise, keeping all the weeds out of my garden and installing a new retaining wall have all gone down like a lead balloon.

I keep hoping some spark of enthusiasm will enter my woeful body and allow me to create enough energy to complete even one of these long-delayed tasks.

If I were to make a few resolutions they might be to be more optimistic (hard if you've got savings in the market), be more empathetic (hard when you come from a farm where empathy is usually hard to find), be more forgiving of other's foibles and be more appreciative of family and friends who seem always there when you need someone to lean on or talk to.

If I could come close to fulfilling any of those resolutions, I'd say 2009 would be a total success. Here's hoping your 2009 will be a banner year!

See, I'm already being more optimistic!

Happy New Year!

See you next time. Okay?