plezWorld Top Stories of 2006

It seems as though everyone has a year-end "Best of 2006" list, so it only seems fitting that plezWorld follow suit and enter my top 14 stories for the year that was...

14. Losing teeth

Not a big deal outside of plezWorld, but my little girl is growing up. Five 5 years old and already sporting 5 new teeth; I can only imagine what is going to happen next year.

13. Trans-Atlantic Plot Foiled

I travel for my job; I'm in an airport twice a week, every week! That plot to take explosives on-board some planes and blow them up over the Atlantic Ocean has completely altered the way we travel. The evening of August 10th, it took almost 10 hours for me to fly home.

For several months, travelers were unable to carry any LIQUIDS, CREAMS, or GELS! You don't know frustration until you are on a late night flight to a strange city and all of your toiletries (toothpaste, hair stuff, lotion, shaving stuff, and deodorant) are confiscated at the airport. I curse this War on Terror with every time I have to remove my shoes before walking through the detector!

12. New iPod for Christmas

In the past 2 years, I've had 3 iPods (iPod mini, iPod Nano, and iPod Shuffle). Well, my wife outdid herself when she got me a bad ass 80GB Video iPod. I can save every song that I have on CD to this thing... and it even has my name engraved on the back! Thanks, honey!

11. Death of Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King filled the shoes of Martin Luther King, Jr. with grace and class since an assassins bullet brought his life to an end in 1968. With her death on January 31, I feel that the Civil Rights Movement has officially ended.

10. Democrats Take over the House and the Senate

Back in August, I predicted the demise of the Democratic Party and here we are a few months later with them kicking the Republicans to the curb - the mid-term elections were on November 7. So much for my career as a political prognosticator! But with George Bush's War in Iraq going so poorly and a "do-nothing" Congress for the past 6 years, the Republicans made themselves an easy mark. If George Bush can figure out a way to weasel out of Iraq before the 2008 elections, it will be interesting to see how much control the Democrats will be able to retain - I don't recall much in the area of ideas coming out of this group except their dissatisfaction with the War in Iraq.

9. Saddam Hussein Verdict and Execution - November 5/December 29

I'm not a big fan of the War in Iraq; I don't even think we should be over there handling a Bush Family Vendetta! But I'll handle that alittle later in this post. Saddam Hussein was a bad man... yada! yada! yada! There are a lot of bad men in this world, there are a lot of bad men in this world who kill and maim lots of innocent people... but the US isn't there doing some shadow government's bidding, either.

It's a good thing that he is gone, but when placed in the balance of life, Hussein's death doesn't come close to to the 3,000 US troops who have died while serving in Iraq!

Saddam Hussein was executed on December 29, 2006.

8. E. coli in the Spinach

There's some e. coli in my spinach. What gives here? No more spinach salad... for a long time! And the same thing goes for Taco Bell.

7. Georgia Tech in the Gator Bowl without Reggie Ball

Reggie Ball is a senior at Georgia Tech and he has been the starting quarterback since his first game as a freshman. I find it more than alittle strange that after 4 years of blood, sweat, and tears for this team, he'd be jettisoned for "academic ineligibility." He's not the most popular guy on the team and I would venture a guess that there's a good chance that he isn't even the best quarterback that they have, but to strip him of the opportunity to play in the final game of his career at Georgia Tech (this isn't the pro's) has taken disloyalty to a new low!

Georgia Tech announced that Reggie Ball was academically ineligible on December 22, 2006.

6. Senator Barack Obama in the Spotlight

Should he run? Or shouldn't he? I'm not that impressed with Hillary Clinton: she is plastic, predictable, and a politician. She has none of the charisma of her husband and I don't think she'll find enough votes to win any states outside of New York (and maybe Massachusetts). Barack Obama is engaging, charismatic, photogenic, and seemingly pragmatic. He comes across as reasoned and balanced. Some say Hillary and Barack would be a killer ticket... I'd rather see him on the 2008 Presidential Ticket with John Edwards.

5. The Atlanta Falcons Fly South in November

After a 5-2 start, the Falcons gravitated to their old ways and ended the season at a miserable 7-9 (losing their last game to the NFC East Division Eagles who played backups for the entire game). The skid began with losses to the Lions, Browns, Ravens, and Saints. It looks like Head Coach Jim Mora should put the house up for sale. If the head coach isn't fired, the Falcons should look to deal Michael Vick to another team, because it is clear that the coaching staff has no idea how to make this guy a winner (even though, he had his best years under former Head Coach Dan Reeves).

4. Year of the Blog

I started this blog on February 14, 2006 because I had to register with Blogger.com to add a comment to a friend's blog... and as the old saying goes: The rest is history! I had no idea that 10 months later I'd still be at it. It has been a BLAST and I've learned more from this and other blogs than I'll ever see in a newspaper or on the nightly news. This is definitely the wave of the future and I can see how Time Magazine selected me (and you) to be its Person of the Year.


3. 3,000 US Soldiers Killed in Iraq

I was in the airport a few months ago and watched as one of our soldier's caskets was loaded on my plane in Philadelphia. His body was undoubtedly on its way to its final resting place. The tears welled up in my eyes to think that a young man's life was snuffed out in his prime while he was over in a foreign country fighting a war without reason. This young man was some one's son, some one's father, some one's husband, some one's friend. I have no idea why we're in Iraq, and I'm sure he didn't know why he was going to die in Iraq, because only George Bush knows why we are in Iraq... and it ain't about WMDs, or Al Qaeda or Osama Bin Laden or liberating the Iraqi people. My stomach churns and the tears flow just as freely today as they did that fall morning. Three thousand lives is a high price to pay whatever the reason.

As of December 31, 3,000 soldiers have died in Iraq.

2. Death of James Brown

I was helping Santa Claus with my daughter's Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve when I saw a short blurb on CNN about the death of James Brown. He was a musical icon and genius who changed music. He was a flawed man, but a giant in the music industry. I love music and I probably listen to more James Brown and James Brown influenced music than any other genre. I'm going to miss the Godfather.


1. Hank Johnson Victory for US House of Representatives

Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) essentially gave Hank Johnson her seat in Congress when she rumbled with the Capital Police on March 29 at a security checkpoint. The officer claimed that he didn't recognize the congresswoman without her legislative lapel pin and tried to stop her to verify her credentials. The ensuing weeks of embarrassment to her constituents moved many to oust her in favor of Hank Johnson during the Democratic Run-off on August 8.

Hank Johnson made the top of my plezWorld list because I've probably devoted more space to this subject than any other during 2006. Well, here's to 2007... Blog on!