December.  I've been sitting outside in the morning and watching my breath, and thinking that with every exhale the amount of time that needs to pass in between who I am now, and who I hope to be someday, grows a little shorter.  They are moments that I won't get back, so with each one, I hope that it's a moment that has propelled me in the right direction and not a moment that hasn't.

Yesterday, I watched my breath form little clouds around my head while walking down by the bank of the Missouri River.  There's an old landing a few hundred yards from my loft that hasn't been used for decades;  it's nothing more than a crumbling slab of concrete now, and if you're careful, you can navigate your way down to the river's edge.  The speed and size of the river are breathtaking - it feels peaceful, but completely dangerous at the same time.  

I've known a lot of people who've made me feel the same way.

I had a reason to bundle up and venture down to the water yesterday, and it was because the end of the year has snuck up on me in a way that was actually pretty surprising.  So surprising, that when it dawned on me what was happening, I froze and couldn't even recall what stood out about the year that's ending.  I needed to reclaim some of those memories, make sure they were sufficiently marked as moments not to forget, and this is what I came up with:

- We started the year with our first trip through the Southeast.  Waking up to fresh snow in the mountains of West Virginia and watching the sun set through the spaces in between the trees of North Carolina had a lasting impact on me, but New Orleans felt like something different altogether.  After driving slow through the city, we parked along a side street, rolled down the windows and let the car fill with thick Southern air and an eerie silence.  I closed my eyes and reset my life.

- Her.  So much of this year was to do with her.

- We've fallen in love with the West Coast, and were able to take our songs there for the second time this summer.  On the drive between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, there's a corner of Arizona that feels like you've left Earth and happened upon another planet.  I hung my head out the window, hypnotized by the scenery, and in hindsight, could have easily crashed.  But if I had, how lucky to have that landscape be the last thing I saw.

- I met Adam Duritz.  Nothing poetic to say about it.  Crazy awesome.

There was more.  Of course there was more.  But instead of telling you about, it seems I should be thanking you for it.  We're well aware of what kind of band we are - we're not rich and famous, and nothing we're able to do is guaranteed.  If you quit listening, it could all be over tomorrow.  So thank you for listening.  Thank you for dreaming.  Thank you for enabling us to do the same. 

We can't wait to see you in 2009.

Yours,

David

Upcoming Tour Dates (who booked the Dakotas in January!?):

January 21, 2009 - Sioux Falls, SD at Augustana College [9:00 PM]

January 23, 2009 - Valley City, ND at Valley City State University [11:00 AM]