“I am going to curb my enthusiasm for 2023, because 2022 was one of the best years of my life.”
-Wenty, 1/1/23
“I was right to curb my enthusiasm.”
-Wenty, 12/30/23
Okay, so I think it goes without saying that 2023 has been a real kick in the gonads for your humble blogger. I’ve written enough blogs about hospitals and doctors and all that jazz so we will not be regurgitating any of that. Suffice to say that I am feeling great as I sit and write this; I am blessed to have my cousin Zach on the bench as a potential kidney donor, and equally blessed that my kidneys continue to show improvement.
So let’s accentuate the positive as we look back at 2023 in the life of Wenty and the life of wentyworld.com….
January: I spent a few weeks in Colorado.
January Blog Highlight: “Now That I Don’t Understand At All”: The Jack Benny Specials Part Two
I wrote this article on January 14th into the wee hours of the 15th. My New Years Resolution for 2024: Don’t write blogs late at night when you feel sick. Call the doctor when you feel sick. Or go to bed.
February Blog Highlight: Four Things That Did Not Happen While I Was Sick
It’s been nearly a full year since my brain put on a series of illusions for me while I was in ICU. I still can picture them vividly. More than what I wrote in this article, actually. It’s pretty eerie, I’ll be honest.
March: Went to the Hemingford Dinner Theater with my pal Tami….the play was great and so were the refreshments…
March Blog Highlights:
Classic TV Picks
Three Love Letters To Jack Benny
Two blogs about classic television, one of my favorite subjects.
April: My friends Kalin Krohe and Jeremy Fifield reunited their hillbilly music group The Riverfront Boys for a special one-night-only performance at Alliance’s cool new spot, the Dead Unicorn Society. There was a lot of anxious chatter, gossip and speculation from folks about this new venue…but surprise! It’s a bar, restaurant and music venue! And nothing else!
April Blog Highlight:
A Grammy “Salute” To The Beach Boys
One of those TV specials where they make really talented people sit in a balcony while far inferior performers warble the talented peoples’ music.
May:
My pals Dangerous Dave, Herr Kroheim and the Kenzie Cat enjoyed a swell trip to Denver. The boys went to see Tommy James and the Shondells at the Paramount Theater, and we all enjoyed a day at the unique interactive art experience Meow Wolf.
May Blog Highlights:
Donkey-Maggedon!
With as much humility as I can muster, this may be the best thing I’ve ever written for the blog. It helps that the whole chain of events is absolutely 100% real. Truth is stranger (and more violent) than fiction!
Grape-Nuts, The Discordant Danny Thomas, and City-Wide Power Outish
This is all over the map. And extremely nerdy. But I enjoyed writing it.
June Blog Highlight:
Branson Is Back! (The Musician, Not The Place)
Another wonderful evening at the Dead Unicorn Society.
July:
Heritage Days!!!!!!
And a visit home to see Big Dave, sister Jo, Aflie the Wonder Dog and….of course…this guy:
July Blog Highlights:
Remembering Don Kennedy
A legendary broadcaster and a great friend of KCOW.
Twenty-Five Years: Holy Crap!
Celebrating a quarter-century of goodmorninggoodmorninggoodmorninggoodmorninggoodmorning!
August:
Hitchcock’s classic “Vertigo” on the big screen at Scottsbluff’s Midwest Theatre!
This was another fun day trip with my pal Tam…we have great times together when we’re not being attacked by donkeys. : D
August Blog Highlight:
How I Became A TikTok Superstar
It’s popular for some reason.
September:
I gathered a dozen or more friends and co-conspirators to record our annual Halloween radio special. (Recording actually started in August but the heavy lifting was in September.) Here’s what it looks like when a dozen people, recorded seperately, come together:
And!!! Dangerous Dave Kuskie and I spent a whirlwind weekend in Denver seeing EARTH WIND AND FIRE and LIONEL RICHIE!!!!!
But wait! There’s more! Krohe and I went to see Bonnie Raitt live in concert at The Monument in Rapid City!
November:
Kroheim and I attended the Carnegie Arts Center’s annual gala, which was a truly wonderful evening with an unending parade of familiar faces.
And Kalin, Jeremy Fifield and I reunited in Studio 14A for our annual pre-Thanksgiving special!
November Blog Highlight:
Deja Vu!
Kalin Krohe’s long-long-long-long awaited album is released at last! And we was there!
December:
Christmas!!!!!!!
December Blog Highlight:
Glesless
Saying so long to a friend and coworker.
Well, that’s 2023. I’m sure I missed some things worthy of inclusion…but my primary goal with this post was to keep the medical stuff to a dull roar. Yes, this year was tough. But as you can see, it was also a year filled with fun adventures, great times with my best pals, and four mornings a week to do my radio program. I am one lucky radio announcer.
I am not going to make any huge predictions about 2024. Save for this: Sometime in the next year, I will go on a real vacation. A multi-day trek to somewhere that isn’t Denver Colorado or Alliance Nebraska.
Happy New Year!