Congrats, you made it. You successfully navigated your way through the holiday season and your reword for doing so is a clean slate for 2009.

I understand that it may have been a dodgy one for a lot of you. I know it was for me.

Now, let us have a moment of silence for the loved ones and the love that did not make it out of 08… you are irreplaceable and you will be missed.

Last year was a hard one or everyone, from top to bottom. We got knocked down as a country, we struggled individually with finances, we saw things most people never thought possible: some good, some not so good. How will 08 go down in history for you? What in the years to come will you remember it for? That history that was made? The economic hardship?

For me, it will go down as a bittersweet year that will end with more questions than answers. Lord willing, I will have all of 09 to delve in and try to decode some of the more tricky enigmas that arose in 08.

Did you make any resolutions? How are those going? Mine are never successful so every year for the past few, I have resolved to not make any resolutions of any kind due to the fear of breaking them and letting myself down. Scanning the news everyday for stories to do the news everyday can become quite depressing. There always seems to be more stories about murders and schools losing funding than there are ones about good things like the lady who gave her kidney to her daughter. I tried my best this year to not make this show a weekly rap up of the war, or the murders in Oakland. If I wanted to, these topics could be the hub of every show. Instead I tried to bring stories relevant to youth and the things going on in their lives. We don’t need to constantly hear how many of us are out fighting and dieing for one reason or another, believe me we already know. So as 09 dawns and 08 sets, remember the things you learned and appreciate them for what they are. Use them as fuel for a better outlook for the New Year. Do you have everything in order to make a clean break from the start gates in 09? Or do you need a little more time? I hope this year is the mirror image of the last for all of you out there that had a tough time, I hope things get as good as they got bad for you sincerely and for those who had a good or even great year, I hope your success continues.

Happy New Year.
—Donny Lumpkins