This weekend I caught up with a friend who happens to have moderate-to-pretty-bad anklyosing spondylitis.  I've known him for a while (he's actually the father of some friends), and I've seen his ups and downs over the years -- trying new meds, desperately clinging to old meds, searching every which way for answers.  And some days have been better than others.

This weekend he was doing great, and we chatted over light snacks and club soda (what one does at such gatherings) about how well he was feeling.  I must have knocked-on-wood a dozen times (I'm That Guy), but was really happy to hear that things were going well.

Feeling great didn't deter him one bit from charging ahead and searching for answers and the pursuit of feeling even better -- and I think that's what impressed me so much.

Needless to say, he is on a roll and I wish him well.  I told him to go celebrate.

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January has had some very good karma. I have been very lucky to experience the feeling of it firsthand, and it has made me a little better off. It seems to be seeping into the pores, or at least I hope that it does, to rejuvenate my system (and yours) to keep us healthy and optimistic. Good goes round (our mind and body).

It all started two weeks ago, when, on an otherwise ordinary day (the precise time these things always happen) word spread like wildfire that a plane touched down in the Hudson River. Luckily, I wasn't flying through North Carolina that day (though a frequent place to transit through to some of the Gulf Coast's coolest cities). But it did give me pause to reflect ...

How ironic that our dirty, disgusting, smelly, mafia-sin-infested Hudson River was turned into the graceful arms outstretched to save all of those people.

The chances of this miracle happening were so slim, it defied all odds -- some credit due of course to Cap'n Sully. The people who made it out weren't the only lucky ones. We as a city and a people were lucky to have avoided that tragedy in our lives, no matter where we lived.

I fly a lot. When cramped in the aroma therapy row of a plane (last row), these things cross your mind from time to time.

And then this past week -- spent in Washington, D.C. -- was a chance to experience the collective voltage of over 2 million people celebrating the end of an era and the beginning of another, and coming together to witness history.

No matter your view or background, it was undeniable that the "current" flowing through the city was contagious and overwhelmingly positive -- a flavor of positive energy I have never tasted before.

The last few weeks have juiced me up enough to make any knee pain and any remorse about having a long term chronic illness feel like it has little consequence.

I hope the good karma makes everyone feel this good. It's a free drug and hopefully there's plenty more in store for all of us.