My Asterisk Year: Book Report

On the day after my 61st birthday last year, I referred to the period 1/17/2021 through 1/16/2022 as my asterisk year. This is what I wrote:

"This is my asterisk year. Like Roger Maris, except without the athletic skill. 

"What do I hope to accomplish this year? Well, there's an asterisk next to it, so I guess we'll just have to see what happens. But all years offer possibilities, and all years offer pitfalls. No one expected last year to be what it turned out to be. I won't use my asterisk as an excuse. I have stuff to write. I have records to play. Books to read, shows to see, even if the latter may be from remote locations for now. I have paths to stroll with my wife. I'll fall short of some goals. There will be the familiar threat of imminent goodbyes, the certainty of occasional heartbreak. There will, I hope, be the comfort of camaraderie, of friendship, family. Love. Maybe some snacks, too. We can't let asterisks get in our way.

"I don't want to grow up. So I won't. This year's gonna be our year. Hey, asterisk! Wanna dance? This can be your year, too. Turn it up, man. We're in this together. I won't blame you if you don't blame me. Looking good there, asterisk. Looking good."

With my asterisk about to expire, I can't reconcile the year's vague promise with the losses it inflicted upon my family. I love you, Mom. I love you, Uncle Carl. We'll meet again some day. I know you both wanted me to keep writing, and I have. Even under the weight of an asterisk.

From last January to now, I completed drafts of my first two books. One of them is the draft I intend to submit to my publisher as soon as its details have been settled; that book is tentatively set for publication in late 2022. On Wednesday night, I finally completed the first draft of my long-threatened book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Given how long I've been working on that book, it's appropriate the final entry finished was a celebration of "Time Has Come Today" by the Chambers Brothers. TIME! 

The completed draft of GREM! totals 154,481 words. That number may shrink in the revision process, as there are a number of redundancies from chapter to chapter; I'll be streamlining all of that. I actually enjoy revisions (at least I enjoy the revisions I decide are necessary), so I'm looking forward to getting into that. 

The book's path to publication is not yet charted. But I'll get there somehow. I owe the asterisk that much. And I owe Mom and Uncle Carl at least that much. I'll get there. Asterisk in tow.

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This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, and on the web at http://sparksyracuse.org/ You can read about our history here.

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