HAVE SAPPY!!! HAVE A SAPPY!!! HAVE A SAP, SAP, SAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

THE END IS NEAR!!!  The end of 2017 that is!  I won't get into the sorted affairs of the world in this post.  Twitter and Facebook can sum it up much more graphically than I ever could.  Instead, I'll merely reflect on my experience with the year.

2017 had many up and many downs, as any year will really.  WonderCon and Comic Con were certainly high points for me, as they are every year to be honest.  It was a tight year financially for me, but that's almost become the norm in my life.  I'm about to not have to worry about my car payment anymore, so that's gonna help a lot.  Hopefully 2018 will be the year I finally make some gains for my future.

Losing my dad was obviously another hard blow.  It was something we weren't exactly shocked by, but at the end of the day, nothing prepares you for losing a parent.  It will always hit hard, no matter how expected.  I had a hard time with it initially, but the response that came from his passing was just mind blowing.  On Twitter, my timeline was flooded with condolences and well-wishes from pals, and a good many from total strangers even.  It reaffirms my faith in humanity in that there are still kind people in the world that would offer support to someone they don't know.  His wake had close to 200 people show up.  My greatest fear was being alone at his memorial because he'd burned so many bridges over the years.  To see that all these people still loved him and forgave him helped with the healing.  It was because of that, I was able to see my dad as I saw him as a child again and not as the shadow he had become towards the end.  In a way, he was redeemed.  It still saddens me he'll never get to see the great things my brother and I and his grandchildren have yet to accomplish firsthand, but I know in Heaven he looks down on us and is proud.

Creatively speaking, I'd say 2017 was a banner year for me.  Bubble Fox and the blog cartoons were very well received and I made strides in other art arenas that I'm very happy with.  Building my Halloween props for my front yard was a blast and got so many of my neighbors excited.  I even started taking another look at screenwriting this past year.  I look forward to more comics, more cartoons, more prop builds and who knows?  Maybe even a script or two in the coming year.

I'll end this post and 2017 with a simple plea to please be kind to one another.  Hatred is a vicious beast and one that is not easily defeated once it gets started.  By helping one another and just plain being nice, maybe we can make a difference.  Take care my CRAZIES.  May the coming year bring happiness and success to us all.  Catch y'all in 2018!