2013 Memories

The New Year is hours away. New Year’s is a time to look forward, to plan and set those resolutions that you may or may not keep. New Year’s Eve is a good time to reflect.

For me, 2013 was a year of small transitions. I moved my blog into its own domain space, and shut down my old LegalSync programming web site. I finished a rewrite of my novel, and submitted it to two publishers. I received two rejection notices. More rewrites and submissions lay ahead.

The year was, for the most part, a year. I was not a big year, but I can say it wasn’t a bad one, and that is a good thing.

We all said farewell to someone. Perhaps someone close, or perhaps someone that we never knew but felt their influence nonetheless. For me I can fortunately say that no close personals were lost, but there were some public figures who left this coil that touched me.

These are the public lives that have affected me in one way or another. This is not a definitive list, by any stretch of the imagination. The only order here is chronological. Some, I admit, have had more affect on me than others, but I do not wish to play favorites right now. Now I wish only to take a moment to remember some meaningful, memorable, or lighthearted lives.

Jan. 14Conrad Bain Mr. Drummond / “Different Strokes”	Jan. 16Abigail Van Buren Dear Abby
Mar. 1Bonnie Franklin “One Day at a Time”	Apr. 4Roger Ebert Movie Critic
Apr. 8Margaret Thatcher England’s Prime Minister	Apr. 12Jonathan Winters Comedian / Actor (personal favorite)
Apr. 13Annette Funicello Actress / Mouseketeer	Apr. 19Allan Arbus Actor / “M.A.S.H.” psychiatrist
May 13Dr. Joyce Brothers Doctor / Columnist	May 31Jean Stapleton Actress / “All in the Family”
Apr. 2Milo O’Shea Actor / “The Golden Girls” “The West Wing”	Apr. 22Richard Havens guitarist / songwriter
Apr. 26George Jones Country Songwriter	Jun. 6Esther Williams Actress / “Ziegfeld Follies”
Jun. 9Van Cliburn Pianist	Jun. 19James Gandolfini Actor / “The Sopranos”
Jun. 23Richard Matheson Author / Screenwriter / “I am Legend” “Twilight Zone”	Jun. 26Murio Alan Myers DEVO’s Drummer
Jul. 1Jim Kelly Actor / Martial Artist	Jul. 20Helen Thomas White House Press Corp
Jul. 22Dennis Farina Actor / “Get Shorty” “Law and Order”	Aug. 24Julie Harris Actress / “East of Eden” “Harper”
Aug. 31David Frost News Broadcaster	Sep. 12 Ray Dolby inventor of DOLBY
Sep. 18Ken Norton Boxer	Oct. 1 Tom Clancy Author / “Hunt for Red October”
Oct. 27Lou Reed Musician / Songwriter	Dec. 5Nelson Mandel Peacemaker
Dec. 14Peter O’Toole Actor / “Lawrence of Arabia”	Dec. 15Joan Fontaine Actress / “Rebecca” “Suspicion”