Goodbye 2016!!!!

So 2016 is finally over!!  2016 was a very gut wrenching year.  We lost so many people in 2016, from movie actors to some people that were very big parts of my life.  Here is a look back at some of the people and things that were important to me that we lost in 2016:


Alan Rickman-  He is best known for playing Snape in the Harry Potter franchise but I fondly remember him when I was a kid as the Sherriff of Nottingham in the Robin Hood movie with Kevin Costner and Christian Slater.  I also loved him in Galaxy Quest, Die Hard, and of course all the Harry Potter movies.  I will definitely miss seeing him on the big screen!


Prince-  I bought Prince's greatest hits album on CD, that's those discs that have music on them for the kids that don't know, back in college.  I loved listening to it and it was always in my car when I was driving around Asheville.  He was by far my favorite artist in college.


Florence Henderson- I of course watched all the episodes of the Brady Bunch show as a kid.  Between that, Gilligan's Island, and Dukes of Hazard my days were chalked full of amazing TV shows.


There were a ton of other celebrities that we lost last year including, David Bowe, Alan Thicke, Doris Roberts, Carrie Fisher, Mohamed Ali, Abe Vigoda, Arnold Palmer, and Gene Wilder just to name a few. 


There were three personal loses that hit hard in 2016:


Bill "Billy Z" Zeiss- Bill was an amazing man with a heart of gold.  I still kind of get that feeling sometimes that he might just pop in to see me like he did whenever he was at the church.  He always had a smile and  story to tell.  I miss his advice on where I should go to eat, how to work the sound equipment here at the church,  or my favorite memories of him, sitting and talking to him on a May afternoon at the Durham Bulls Ballpark as we took in the sights, sounds, and smells of another afternoon game.  I'm having nachos at the first Day game to honor you my buddy! He may be gone but he will never be forgotten.  His giving nature and want to help as many people as possible make Billy more important to me than anyone of the celebrities listed above!  I hope it's going big up there buddy!!!


Jean Hagman-  My Grandma Hagman died this past year.  She was the last of Grandparents which in a way made me realize just how old I have gotten.  She hadn't been doing well lately and it was definitely a blessing for her to be able to move on to see my Grandpa again.  I will miss her way too sweet apple sauce, Sausage and egg biscuits on morning they would visit, that house in Lutherville that will always be Grandma and Grandpa's House!


The last thing that I lost in 2016 was a relationship with someone that was really important to me.  The person was making a lot of changes in their life and one of those was making me less and less involved in it which was hard for me because they were still so important to me.  It will be a hard thing to move on from but it is best for both of us if we do!


So there you have it, the bad things that happened in 2016.  I sure there will be things that happen in 2017 but I feel good about this year, and I am making strides already for it to be a great year!  One of those things is to get back to blogging which was always fun and helped a lot to get through everyday life! 


Together we can make this a great year!  Welcome 2017!!!!