HOW quickly time flies! I started this year by looking back at 2022 which had three major challenges — the aftermath of the catastrophic Super Typhoon 'Odette' (known as Rai internationally), the upsurge of Covid-19 Omicron variant cases, and the emotionally draining national and local elections — as well as the installation in mid-2022 of a new government administration. I was somewhat optimistic about 2023, but the new year started with a major power outage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that stranded 56,000 passengers. But I will not dwell on what transpired in the past 12 months on this last day of the year. Instead, I want to express my gratitude to The Manila Times and to its editors for patiently reviewing my columns in the past three years. I also want to thank many old friends and new acquaintances for their contributions to my articles.