Goodbye 2006! Hello 2007!

Another fantastic year in the Clay nation has come and gone! From the amazing release of Clay's two new CDs to the unforgettable American Idol 5 appearance, we saw it all in 2006.

As we say goodbye to 2006, here is the CB's mamarose10's 2007 predictions, a Clayboard classic since 2003:

I looked at the calendar this morning and was alarmed to see that we are only two days away from a NEW YEAR!! Where does the time go?

Only two more days until 2007, and that meant it was time for me to seek out the Clayboard Crystal Ball and take my yearly peek at what predictions it would have for Clay and all of us during the coming year in Clay Land.

So I dug the Crystal Ball out from its hiding place in the secret cupboard behind the old upright piano at the Bakery, dusted it off and sat down to have a look.

Our beloved Clayboard Crystal Ball seemed somehow older and more worn this year as I gazed into it…yet at the same time that special shimmering flame that burns within its murky depths seemed clearer and brighter.

In past years, the Crystal Ball had seemed eager to share with me exciting little tidbits that the year ahead would hold for Clay and our Clayboard family. But this year, the ball seemed to have more important things to say to me and to share with all of us.

I sensed it had some simple truths it wanted to impart. And while I was looking for words of tours and TV appearances and new CDs, the Crystal Ball seemed instead to want to tell me all about Clay fans.

Now I wanted to tell the Crystal Ball that I know a little about Clay fans myself, having seen that they can stretch from a 17-year-old in my Girl Scout Troop to ClassAkt MK’s mom, BetterthanSinatra, who will turn 82 this year.

But the ball seemed insistent in making sure I knew that Clay fans come in all age groups, races, religions, shapes and sizes, and no matter how they can be categorized and scrutinized and lumped and sorted, what stands out and makes them Clay fans is their UNITY.

From the depths of the ball I read the words: "Other pop stars merely have fans, but Clay Aiken has a NATION, and a powerful nation at that. It is a nation UNITED by caring, by compassion, by pride, by hope, by faith, by time, by adversity, by trial, by loss, by victory, by joy and by love!"

"Clay fans MUST be proud of that, and PROUD of THEMSELVES," the Crystal Ball seemed to stress.

Wow, the Crystal Ball said a mouthful there. And it was typing in CAPS too!!! It must mean business!!

Things went dark for a moment or two in the depths of our special orb. I gazed in deep…thinking maybe that was all it had to say. But just when I was about to give up I saw the word "Strength" appear through a mist. The ball seemed to want to say something about strength and as the mist cleared a bit more I clearly saw the words.

The Crystal Ball said: "It is not really adversity that makes us stronger, although it does play a part. It is the love that builds beneath the adversity, the love and faith and support that the adversity brings forth in Clay fans that gives us strength and will continue to give us strength and stand us in good stead…for all the days of our lives."

I had to giggle at that last line. The Crystal Ball must be a "Days" fan and I made a mental note to try to get some soap predictions out of it in the future.

But now I sensed the Crystal Ball was growing weaker, and that our yearly time together was soon to end.

Through the mist, as I gazed deep into the ball, I could see something floating there and as it came clearer, I read the word "Bonds." Oh wow, I thought, "bonds"…as in stocks and bonds maybe?? Was I going to get some financial tip here (maybe to help me pay for future concert trips)?

But the Crystal Ball said: "No Dummy, not that kind of bonds."

The Crystal Ball continued: "I am talking about the bonds of Clay fandom. In 2007, do not forget the bonds you share because of Clay, the bonds you share with your fellow board members and all Clay fans, the bonds you share with the friends you have made BECAUSE of Clay and, most of all, the bond that all Clay’s fans share with him. What you have built together is stronger than you know, stronger than any one knows. It will withstand the test of time. Cherish your memories, hold onto the joy. Trust and believe in the future."

The glowing beam within the ball, whose power source I could never understand, was now sadly growing very dim.

I felt a little panicky! Did it not understand what I needed to see, what I needed to know? I gazed almost too hard into its depths, so hard my eyes were beginning to hurt, and just when I was about to give up, I saw it. I saw what I needed to see…ALL I really needed to see.

Swirling, ever swirling, very deep down in the ball, so deep I had to bend very close to see it, were the words:

"Do not fear. There is GREAT joy ahead! Clay will be fine. HE will ALWAYS be fine, because, after all, he has the best fans in the world. Just ask him. For he knows!"

And the Clayboard Crystal Ball went dark.

I wiped away the tear that had fallen on the now dark surface and carefully put our Clayboard Crystal Ball away until next year.

I am ready for 2007.

Happy New Year Clayboard!

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