Year 2007 in Review: A Year of Realization

Year 2007 in Review: A Year of Realization

Written by Gary Krajewski

January 7, 2008

It could be said that August through October 2007 were the most important three months of the year, and perhaps the three most important months in years.

There couldn't have been a single event or action more defiant than the moment Andy, Gary, and their father decided to walk off on their baseball team and off the baseball field, and quit the baseball team. That moment was the turning point of the year, and a turning point in the trio's relationship. "There was something rebellious about it, something uniform about it, "Gary says. The second after their manager, Steve Dufault, a bumbling, pompous man, criticized the integrity of George's fatherhood, the three defended like hornets protecting their nest. Within a minute or two, they had cleared the field, throwing the 434m1210e ir jerseys behind them, and going back home, where there was a tremendous sigh of relief, and joy. The three, after a lifetime full of misunderstanding and over-politics on the baseball field, had finally done something visibly to go against that grain. "When we all got back home, it was as if the one single greatest force of evil had been defeated and freed from our backs and minds. It was a sense of pride and family hood that we hadn't experienced in years. That night, we won, together, " Gary goes on.

After that telling night in late July, the summer took a very adventurous, much more colorful and positive turn. It also took a retrospective turn. Golf came back, or should I say it started. Fishing came back, after several years off. The old-fashioned August feeling came back. August turned into the best month of the summer, and it was free of baseball, free of that devilish character of Steve Dufault. There was no longer that outstanding power and control hanging over them.

Overall, 2007 was a year that turned into a realization. A realization that nothing and nobody is going to last forever, an acknowledgement that our own father has a finite amount of years left to spend while he still has the energy to do so, and an importance put back on family life. And it was extremely important for this realization to occur while it was still early. It is very important to remember the past, to remember the good in the past, and hold onto it, and remember the feelings and memories that brought us to where we are right now. "There were a lot of good things that happened in the past with this family and with Andy and I. We really have not lived a boring, pedestrian life. In fact, we've lived a very layered, very colorful and adventurous life. We have a lot that we really should remember and use from our past," Gary explains. And 2007 seemed to be the realization of that. We really did revert back to family togetherness and fun.

2007 vs. 2006

2007 was overall a much better year than 2006. The year 2006 was filled with periods of idleness, unproductiveness, and some degree of darkness. 2007 was a year of stability, consistency, and had a much more defined feeling than 2006. "I think 2006 was overall a dark-toned year, from January to the summer anyways. Fall 2006 was much more positive and was probably the best time of 2006 by far," Gary says.

There's an awful lot of green under the 2007 side of this chart. "For me personally, I can't possibly take a lot of positives from 2006. Overall it wasn't a very bright year. The only part of the year that wasn't dark was during the Fall and the lead up to Christmas. That portion of the year was memorable and had a whole separate feeling than that spring and summer before it, "Gary says.

2007 was just a totally different year and feel than 2006, it really is that simple a comparison.

Gary's Music Biography

Overview

Music to me is communication. Music to me is communication and expression. For me, music is meant as a private exercise but also as an open, expressive form of communication that is stronger than regular verbal dialogue. Music has been a life long friend of mine, a friend that is forgiving, a friend that always seems to be there and get into everything I do and into everyone I've ever known. Music to me brings color and meaning to a particular person, place, event, time, season, or time of year. Music to me is a personal caddy that offers a layered background to daily thinking and feeling.

In terms of what kind of music and what kind of songs I enjoy and are attracted to most, it's a multidimensional answer, but has a lot of simplicity in it. I like songs that are direct in form, songs that give a defined line to the intro, verses, chorus, bridge, and ending.

Attributes that I like in a song

Guitar, vocals, lyrics, pattern,