KIDS THESE DAYS:

For the final column of each year, I am allowed to break format and discuss the future or the past, so here goes.

Sports Illustrated has declared 2008 as the best sports year ever. The assessment is debatable, but there is no doubt it will sell magazines.

Having traded notes with enough people over the past few weeks, I am ready to declare 2008 the weirdest year ever, or at least the weirdest in my 53 years, and I’ve had some weird ones.

2008 seemed to be operating under a continuous full moon. Just when we thought things were getting strange, they got stranger.

The following is a recap of strange things that have happened this year, most of them local.

One event you will not read is the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States despite the fact that he is African-American. You see, I don’t believe America to be the racist nation that many claim. To me, his election was a matter of clever politics.

If Obama’s election had made the list, it would have been because he was the least-qualified candidate.

So the election of Obama is not conspicuously absent. Here are some others:

1) Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who once tried to link the possibility of global warming to “dinosaur flatulence,” has a clearer head on a strategy for the economic bailout: “If we have to put money into our economy, let’s not give it to failed businesses, but rather invest in better transportation, energy and water systems,” Rohrabacher said Dec. 16. “When our economy is weak, we shouldn’t be transferring dollars to losers.” Amen.

2) The local teacher’s union did nothing to retaliate for the school board’s shabby treatment of teachers during last year’s contract negotiations. Three Newport-Mesa school board members ran unopposed in 2008, despite the fact that the contract dispute got so heated teachers were picketing outside Corona del Mar High School. A golden opportunity wasted.

3) Newport Beach Mayor Ed Selich ran unopposed despite the knowledge that he has accumulated liens of more than $2 million over the past three decades. Apparently, there aren’t enough people in Newport Beach who believe that sound personal financial management is in any way connected to sound public financial management.

4) Costa Mesa City Council candidate Eric Bever got reelected, despite breaking ranks with his team. In May, Bever came to his senses and proposed another look at the Job Center concept, even though Mayor Allan Mansoor has claimed the Job Center closure a success. Clearly, there was no violation of the Brown Act here.

5) A new bagel shop opens in Costa Mesa. The opening of Bagelmania near the corner of Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue didn’t just fill a void in the area, it provided proof that risk-takers will always be one of America’s greatest assets. The store opened in June, right around the time we were figuring out that the economy was dysfunctional. Now, Natasha Glasgow and her crew are enjoying the success that comes with good food and excellent service. Gee, what a concept.

6) The state of California is nearly bankrupt so lawmakers in Sacramento tried this month to raise taxes. Trying to get money from people who don’t have any ... I thought only loan sharks did that with their customers.

7) According to MSNBC last October, retirement accounts had lost more than $2 trillion. My wife is wondering where that money went. I am wondering whether Gov. Schwarzenegger can go there and ask for a loan.

8) Both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa are still standing, despite dire warnings from the anti-fireworks crowd that the end of the world awaited us. Costa Mesa turned up the volume on the penalties for fireworks violations and revelers in Newport Beach kept their street exhibitions to a minimum. And I learned how quickly a plastic trash can melts when you don’t properly extinguish fireworks.

That’s all folks. As weird as 2008 was, we have much for which we should be thankful. If you and your family are in good health, that’s enough to cause you to stop and count your blessings.

Happy new year.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to [email protected].