In the spirit of so many newspaper summaries of this year, none of which I have read or will ever find interesting enough to read, I feel tempted to try a summary of my own. A brief but poignant one, too. All things considered, this year has been good for me. One of the best in the recent past, in fact. The many miseries it has brought my way have helped me turn a new leaf, if this hackneyed expression makes any sense in the context of my expectations. And they are bright, indeed.

Chief among the miseries has been the public discussion of the environmental impact study of golf development in the offices of the Motovun Municipality in late October (“The Mayor and His Stooges: An Electronic-Mail Message to the Members Of Motovun – Eco Town,” October 22, 2008). What a meeting! Its impact will be felt for years, but it has changed my attitude toward the hilltown once and for all. Whether or not I will eventually leave Motovun remains to be seen, but the attitude change will surely stay with me.

Of course, I have already written about the new leaf (“The Seven-Year Life Cycle,” October 23, 2008). The date of this piece is most significant in this context. Not surprisingly, it comes in the wake of the fatal meeting. In any case, the next year beckons most warmly. It will take me another few months to enter it body and soul, for this year has left a long and tangled tail (“Welcome to Motovun!” November 13, 2008), but it feels soothing well in advance. And it presages nothing but bliss.

Addendum (December 31, 2009)

My optimism at this time last year was disarming, but it was also misguided. That fateful meeting in the offices of the Motovun Municipality is still with me. And my tenth seven-year cycle has been effectively disrupted, if not actually arrested. But the best I can do at this stage is to return to the optimism of this piece. Not even the mayor of Motovun, let alone his stooges, should be allowed to derail me in my own quest. This is my life, after all. So, let my tenth seven-year cycle belatedly begin!