Christmas is nearly over, time for me to look ahead a bit. This week will be dominated by a two-day visit to Brooklyn, (Tuesday and Wednesday) a gift from my daughter who bought me  two nights in a nearby apartment whose owners are away. I’m bringing a worm that rattles, and a rattle that talks back.

Maria and I accepted Emma’s generous offer. I’m bringing two books and my black and white camera, I hope to wander around Brooklyn a bit, it is a wonderfully evocative place to take pictures. We are hoping to take Robin to the Brooklyn Museum if we can figure out the logistics.

New Year’s has always seemed a forced kind of holiday to me, but it is a natural time to look ahead. I ran into a friend at the Round House and wished her a happy holiday. She muttered “God help us all,” and walked gloomily away. I don’t think we’ll be having lunch anytime soon.

My ideas for 2017 are shaping up. I am going to commit small – maybe large – acts of good and kindness and compassion. Soon, we will be meeting the refugee family we will be mentoring in their new life here. I am eager to share that experience. I can only control me, not the nation, not the earth.

My focus will be on doing the good I can do. On avoiding argument as a substitute for communication. On rejecting the labels other people put on me, and on avoiding putting them on others. On keeping an open mind.

I am not living in fear or dread, I hope my writing and photographs and life will encourage, not discourage people, and lift them up, not bring them down. I am not living in a tunnel, I know this will be a difficult year for many people in the country. When I can, I will seek to help the poor and needy, and stand by them and stand in my truth.

I believe that immigration is ingrained in the American idea and soul.

This year will be a strong opportunity for me to define who I am and come to terms with my own values. I am no sunshine soldier (I am really no soldier at all), I love my country and have the highest hopes for it. My idea is liberty and justice for all.

I hope we will always be a beacon for the weary and dispossessed. That’s how I came to be here, that’s how I hope others will come to be here, and I will offer them my open arms. I will take photos every day and work hard to make them better and better.

I also hope to write a fine book called “Lessons Of Bedlam Farm,” and Christmas was yet another lesson.

I much look forward to Maria’s trip to India to help the victims of the sex industry there learn how to make potholders and other fiber arts. This will be a landmark experience for Maria, I am so excited for her. I wish I could be there with her, I would love to see India, but this is not the right trip for me, or the right time.

It’s her trip, period. This year, I will remain faithful to my blog, my photos, my responsibility to capture the light and color of the world, and write about the real lives of real animals. I’m excited about 2017, no one is going to take away from me.

More about 2017 later. Tonight, I’m signing off on Christmas by watching the second installment of Smiley’s People, in honor of my new silver heart pill container, and in memory of General Vladimir.