By JOSHUA THOMAS

C-S-E Editor

It’s overwhelming to realize how much can happen over the course of one year. When I decided to write this editorial about my favorite moments of 2012, I started to look back, and small challenges arose just trying to remember some of what happened in the first couple months of 2012. When a memory struck, I sometimes had to do a mental double take just to make sure it really happened this year. Some memories seem years old, while others seem to trail close behind, refusing to allow time to pass between us.

Some of the best events I cover every year are musical, and literally every concert I attend is a pleasure, including the tri-village summer concert series, though some of my favorite musical memories of 2012 were made in a venue that’s new to me. Two of the best times I’ve had covering events were in Upstate Chapel, the converted Catholic church on Cliff St., where I was lucky enough to be able to view the Halloween and Christmas shows from a seat in the balcony, which really allowed me to see the majesty of music enveloping a crowd.

While both shows had countless awe-inspiring moments, the Halloween show stood out for me, as it was the first show I attended in the former church. Perched in a perfect position in a packed balcony, I had the opportunity to see performers playing the complicated, balcony-located pump organ up close and personal.

While I’ve always liked the resonant, layered sound that organs emit, it’s only this year that I’ve come to really crave their expansive, eerie sound. To watch such a large crowd become enraptured by the haunting instrument, which, for me, conjures vivid imagery through its tones and textures, was to truly understand the organ’s power, easily cementing those shows as some of my favorite events of 2012.

Another event I loved covering this year was the Flander family Thanksgiving at the H.C. Smith Benefit Club. I always enjoy attending this event, because the Flander family is a great group of people to spend even a short amount of time with. This year though, felt special, because even though I only had a few minutes to talk to them, as I stopped to cover the event on the way to my scheduled Thanksgiving dinner with friends, I was able to express, and truly understand, how much the event has meant to me over the years.

My grandmother and grandfather would attend the dinner annually, and my grandmother raved about the food, and rightfully so. It was something she looked forward to every year until she passed away, and my grandfather still attends as regularly as he can.

Although not much can top my memories of Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house, where we went each year, it was wonderful to know that my grandma had found a tradition she enjoyed as much as the one she built after she was no longer able to keep it going.

Also, every year, the Flander family would send me off with a takeout dinner, and I would bring the meal directly to my great grandmother’s house to share with her. After my great grandfather passed away, my great grandma swore off holidays, only going out to celebrate a couple times in her final years, but being able to bring that meal to her every year allowed us to continue to have a holiday tradition, and I still remember chatting and laughing with her as we ate turkey with our fingers, my grandma picking out the smallest pieces for herself.

Through sharing those memories, they were suddenly just as vivid as when they took place, and I realized how much impact the Flander family’s annual event has had on my life and family.

I had trouble picking my third favorite event of the year, as there are many things I really enjoyed, from seeing the Nelliston Activities Council scare grown adults with their excellent, massive haunted house, to watching clowns swarm a monster truck as it crushed a car during St. Johnsville’s Springfest, to seeing Ames artist Lorie Suits’ impressive totem pole and hearing the story behind it, but I think my final favorite event pick would have to be 4th on the 3rd at Wiles Park.

There are some events I cover that I have a hard time truly living, because even if I’m having a good time, it’s often nearly impossible to separate myself from the fact that I’m working, which requires me to be in a certain mind frame. The 4th on the 3rd though is a hard event to not have fun at. It provides the perfect mix of getting away and having fun for a day, and really challenging myself to take photos and cover an event in a way I haven’t yet, finding new angles to keep things fresh and showing a year’s worth of professional growth in my photos.

Throughout the day, I met up with family to have Brooks chicken, I saw hundreds of friendly faces, I took in the fireworks and shot some excellent artistic photos of reptiles that were on display, for once very successfully blending work and fun, truly experiencing the event. It’s gatherings like that, with a pace that doesn’t slow down, that challenge me to capture everything, and by the end of it, I’ve just worked and played in equal measures, and for me, there’s no better way to spend a day.

I have my fingers crossed that 2013 will provide just as much pleasure, and I have no doubt there will be a lot to see and hear, as the kind and constantly surprising people of the local area continue to keep me on my toes.