Happy New Year, Leo McGarry Style

Lots of people have New Year's Eve traditions: eating special foods; opening the door at midnight to let the 'bad' out and the 'good' in; attending the same NYE party with the same people every year; singing 'Auld Lang Syne' at midnight... 

Me? Not so much. My husband and I sometimes spend the time with family or friends, but typically we're comfortably at home, with the cats, some snacks and wine, and relax our way to the ball drop.

Last night (OK, most of the day, who am I kidding?) I watched several episodes of the second term of the Bartlet administration. That's right - Jed, and CJ, and Toby, and Josh, and Leo, and the rest of the gang are being replayed on HLN's 'The West Wing' marathon. 

The network originally ran the series at Christmas, and I was delighted to receive such a gift; it's one of my favorite shows ever. The writing; the complex characters and their relationships; the perfect cast to bring them to life; and even the 'accidental' theme song, which has been playing in my head since around 5 Am. Unlike most songs that attack me during the early hours, I'm not eager to chase this one away.

Having the episodes available again - and picking up almost at the point where I left off last time? Another gift. Having them available on New Year's Eve, when we put ourselves through the introspection -prospection routine? Priceless. 

The episode that most struck a chord with me was last night's '365 Days' -  with the return of former Chief of Staff Leo McGarry - on the day after Bartlet's final State of the Union address. They wanted him back, after his heart attack and surgery. Everyone wanted to pick his brain on whatever crises they were dealing with, wanted him in the Situation Room, they all wanted him, but no one had a clue what they wanted from him.

Leo sat in a small office, devoid of decoration, nearly devoid of furniture. Sitting on the floor were tapes of Bartlet's inaugurals and State of the Union addresses. Leo sat in the chair, door open, watching one after another. Staffers wandered in and out, promising to get together with him, to plan, to catch up. The most memorable of the drive-bys was with the very neurotic Toby Ziegler, who wrote Bartlet's speeches.

Later, McGarry and Bartlet had dinner, alone in the residence, and at some point, he swung the conversation to the SOTU, and how it missed the mark. He shared examples, from his day of watching the videos, of promises made and not kept, and when Bartlet pushed back, Leo pushed harder. One of the best lines? Paraphrasing here, but Leo emphatically told Bartlet that he doesn't owe a thing to the Democratic Party, he owes everything to the American people. 

That line is one that I'll likely refer back to this year, what with the new Congress, and who knows how many presidential campaign announcements - how long before we get one? And, of course, it applies across the board: to both parties, and to local, state, and national issues.  

The show wrapped up with the senior staff summoned back to work by the President, and led to Leo's office. After a brief explanation from Bartlet on why they were there - to hear from an old friend - Leo updated his whiteboard from 365 days to 364 days left. He pointed out that they had all spent their days reacting to things, not proactively doing things.

He asked what they thought was important, and started listing their ideas: things left out of the SOTU, or that had been dropped over time. Things that motivated, energized, and inspired them. The things that mattered to them. 

I hope, as we sit at our literal or figurative whiteboards, we're able to fill them with things that motivate, energize, inspire, and matter to us, and that in some way, we share our journeys in 2023.

Happy New Year to you and yours. 

Declaring My Independence

I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've sat down and started to blog in the past week or ten days.

Right now, I have eight draft posts, ranging from a bulleted list to post that's 95% complete, and I haven't been able to bring myself to finish them. I've done the research, I've got bookmarks and downloads and, for a few posts, newspaper articles here on the table next to my 'writing chair', everything at the ready, just waiting for me.

And yet, they sit.

They sit, waiting for me to ditch the bad vibe that underlies all of these messages. For they are all about politics, and they are all frustrating topics, and they're all ones where I'll be preaching to the choir, I suspect, and not influencing anyone's impressions or changing the world or anything like that. Which is frustrating.

What do the drafts cover?

Albany: the end of session, failing to do anything meaningful on ethics. The ridiculous economic development packages and programs and gimmicks, and how 'successful' they've been (yes, that's sarcasm). And the local tie-in to the Preet Bharara investigations, with one of our most favored development companies caught up in the mess.

Washington: some good news coming out of the end of term SCOTUS decisions, but so much else is lacking in so many ways. And that doesn't even count the Presidential candidates, from Trump to Clinton to Sanders, the Forrest Gump of the race, the man who simply won't stop running.

Worse, the 'promised' posts. You know - the ones where someone asks for something, and I know I can give them what they want, easy peasy. Or suggestions from people on  something that would be an interesting topic, and again, the commitment: sure, thanks, I agree, I'll get something out soon... Or, the ones where, in the course of one post, I promise more info in a future one. Ugh.

So much going on, so much material, and I'm stymied. If I had a nickel for every time I started and stopped, started and stopped, started and stopped, I'd have enough for an ice cream at the place down the street, I swear.

I'm hoping that officially taking a break and declaring my independence will help me clear my head and find a helpful, hopeful path forward.

Talk to you in a day or two.

Wondering, on Wednesday (v16)

So, it's New Year's Eve, and you all know what that means: champagne, confetti, noisemakers, and stuff like that. And resolutions.

Ah, resolutions.  Those 'commitments' we make to ourselves,and  post on social media, asking family and friends to PROMISE to help us stick with them.

Or, if you're the introverted type, maybe you scribble yours down on small pieces of paper, commit them to memory, and eat the evidence.

Or, boldly put them in a jar, in plain sight, your words encouraging (taunting?) you each time you walk by.


We're all familiar with the old standbys: quitting smoking; saving money; losing weight; being kind to old people and strangers; cutting out the swearing; going to church.

Joining a gym is another big one, although many fewer people actually go to a gym than join one. According to a report on NPR the average Planet Fitness has about 6,500 members, but can hold only abut 300 at a time, fortunately. The report also noted that these places count on the inactive members to subsidize the active ones. (Hey -wait a minute - that sounds just like the health insurance scam that Gruber guy got in trouble for!)

Another modern thing to do is to sign up for one of those websites where you publish your commitment and then have to pay others if you don't uphold your end of the bargain, or otherwise be publicly shamed. And while I'm wondering, on this last Wednesday of 2014, why anyone would do that and whether people who do actually stick with it any longer than people stick with the gyms they resolve to join, I know that it's not for me.

I don't consistently make New Year's resolutions; I don't always tell  people when I do, and I don't always keep them.  How's that for honesty?

Instead, I try to focus on things, or maybe try something, rather than resolving to do something. To me, the latter seems too much like performance management, and less like personal development.

Here's my working list for 2015, which is apt to fluctuate over time, or on a whim:

• I'll likely attempt some kind of 30-day fitness challenge to work on my abs, butt, and arms, but I'm going in with the full realization that I'll still have abs, a butt, and arms when I'm done. 
• I'll try and lift my face with more smiles than frowns.
• I'll try to eat less, but not less well.
• I'll try to be more engaged in my physical community, not just my online community. There are times when the sword (or rake, or shovel, or going to a meeting or a protest) is actually mightier than the pen - I'm sure of it.
• I will try and read more books, if for no other reason than our house is full of them. And I will try and listen to more music (see reason above). 
• I will try and breathe more deeply, and take in more of that which surrounds me. 

The point of being resolute at the beginning of a year is to try and make things better somehow, as if we cannot possibly be accepting of ourselves as we are. As I look at my list, I think the things that I've written down are reasonably accepting, reasonably moderate, with no concrete deadlines or anything. And I'm OK with that. 

The only one I'm going to be really firm on is this: 

• I'm going to figure out exactly how to put my coffee mug in the microwave so that the handle is accessible when the turntable stops.

Wishing you all a safe, healthy, accepting, moderate, and happy New Year!