Over the past year, I've worked hard to give you a glimpse into my life and my world, sharing experiences and events that made me smile, made me think and -- in the case of the yellow jackets that inhabited my front yard -- made me flee in terror.

Many of you were kind enough to comment on my monthly meanderings, offering thoughtful advice or sharing with me a little slice of your own lives. It made me happy to know that I'm not the only one upon whom life heaps the weird and the wonderful.

In parting, I thought I'd take a moment to update you on some of the things I've discussed over the past several months. Think of it as the closure we'll both need as our year-long love affair comes to an end.

* As of this writing, those pesky yellow jackets, which I first discussed last May, have yet to make their annual appearance. It's still early April so they may just be biding their time, but I remain hopeful that they've tired of tormenting me and have moved on to someone else's yard. But as spring settles in and one Saturday morning you hear a horrible, high-pitched wail coming from somewhere along New Hope Road, you'll know I was wrong.

* One of the highlights of 2007 for Nan and me was our trip to Cooperstown, New York to watch the induction of Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn into the Baseball Hall of Fame. My beloved Orioles didn't do very well last year, but right now, as I sit at my computer writing this column, they're in first place in the American League East Division with a 6-1 record. I fully expect them to crash and burn around mid-season, as they have for the past ten years, but for the moment, in my heart, they're on their way to the World Series.

* I still don't have a MySpace page, nor will you find me on Facebook or any of those other places where today's young people like to hang out (including Starbucks). In fact, the anxiety I expressed earlier regarding the frightening pace with which today's technology is evolving has only grown worse, as has my dismay over the whole phenomenon of blogging. (And no, I still don't have one of those either.) And so I remain, comfortably entrenched as North Raleigh's leading Luddite.

* My friend Dara, who lost her apartment and most of her possessions to a fire in December, has settled nicely into new digs and is doing very well. My thanks to those of you who wrote to express your concern over her situation.

* My father is also doing well. How my family and I were dealing with his Alzheimer's disease was the topic of my very first column in the North Raleigh News, even before I landed the Third Friday gig, and I received a tremendous amount of support and encouragement from you, including e-mails from many who were in a similar situation. I'm happy to report that my dad is still mobile, still relatively active, and still playing the television at a deafening volume. (He asked me to tell you that he said hi, by the way.)

* Lastly, many of you are probably wondering if I ever did meet my next-door neighbors, who were the subject of my first regular column. Sadly, the answer is no. Nan and I continued to try to introduce ourselves for a brief period after that column ran, but it became apparent that our efforts were in vain, so we gave up. Neighbor, if you're reading this, it's not too late to come by and say howdy. The offer of home-made brownies is still on the table.