I hope everyone has a joyous New Year. It's new year's eve, the time we reflect on the past year and make plans for the upcoming 12 months. Every year we see a list of notable deaths from that year. Although not notable, this past November my family lost two brothers. My cousin John and his brother, Jerry, died just three weeks apart. They were two of the biggest characters in a family of characters and will be missed by everyone. My heartfelt condolences go out to Dave, Craig, Brian, Andy, GerryAnn, Eric, Sean and their families. This must have been a hard Holiday season for them.

Yvonne De Carlo, best known as Lilly Munster, died in January. As did Ron Carey (Officer Levitt, Barney Miller ), and Pulitzer winning humorist Art Buchwald. In Febuary, Anna Nicole Smith, listed as model and sometimes actress. Bobby Rosengarden, Jazz drummer; bandleader for "The Dick Cavett Show." My Uncle Tom played in that band. Brad Delp, lead singer with the band Boston, died in March along with Calvert DeForest,( Larry "Bud" Melman on Late Night with David Letterman) and stand up comedian Richard Jeni. With April came spring, baseball and the passing of novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Hawaiian crooner, Don Ho and Bobby "Boris" Pickett, the voice of Monster Mash. Charles Nelson Reilly in May, Liz Claiborne in June. Opera diva , Beverly Sills died in July, so too did cartoonist Buck Brown and Tammy Faye Messner. Tommy Makem went home on August 1st. Game shows won't be the same without Merv Griffin. What can be said about Marcel Marceau who passed on September 22. In October we lost the last of the rat pack, Joey Bishop and Sir Lancelot himself, Robert Goulet. Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel and Mr Wipple, Dick Wilson died in November. I remember the December night in 1980 when John Lennon was murdered. I cried because a part of my childhood went with him. This December we lost Dan Fogelberg and part of my adolescence. The first time I saw Fogelberg in concert was at the Palace in Albany in 1977. I was sitting in the upper corner of the balcony with Mary Beth, when this man walked onto the stage, alone, sat at a grand piano and started to play "Netherlands", I fell in love with his music and Mary Beth that night. I still am a fan of his music and I haven't seen Marybeth in 20 years.

Looking forward is a bit harder.

Time to make the resolutions. I know they only last a few months, weeks, days or even hours, we still make them. So here are mine. I will try to be more tolerant of other people (this one is sure to fail). I will try to save money. I will lose weight. I will meet the right woman (I have a better chance of saving money). What are your New Years resolutions? Anyway, to all, Have a Happy New Year. I wonder where Mary Beth is?

AOH Meeting: Thursday night at the K of C. E-Board at 6:30 and Division at 7:30. I hope to see all the members there.