SUDDENLY, 2014

Suddenly – BAM! – we're here. 2014. Another year.

What happened to 2013? Seems it was just getting started a while ago. Now it's gone.

And nobody is talking about the gross misreading of the Mayan calendar.

I've been staggering around in the cool air and the dazzling desert light in a bit of a daze. Things are crystal clear and surreal. But isn't that the way they usually are? For me at least . . .

Emily and I were on a desert hike. A Jewish family – men in yamakas and ties, women in long skirts and sneakers – came down the trail in the other direction. The patriarch rushed up to me and said, “You know everything, right?”

I don't think I know everything. Everyday I encounter things I didn't know. Why would he assume I knew everything?

Maybe it's the white beard. It makes me look like a wise man, even though I'm more of a wiseguy. I'd shave it off, but it makes a good disguise. And disguises come in handy in this crazy world.

Meanwhile, we've go this whole new year to deal with, and it's chock full of things to do, and explore.

Better get to it.