The morning after news broke of criminal charges against Virginia’s former governor and first lady, Robert and Maureen McDonnell, I finally had a chance to sit down and wade through the 14-count indictment filed by federal prosecutors, all 43 pages of it. Hoo boy. It’s pretty clear where this thing is headed — it’s going to be a gas for the lawyers, not so much fun for everyone else. This is Virginia’s version of the O.J. trial, minus all the blood. What do you figure Judge Ito is up to these days?

“Hidebound,” “intransigent,” “bureaucratic,” “jaw dropping” — none of these words are normally considered terms of endearment.

After a year of headlines flying about so fast you had to wear a hard hat to avoid a concussion, life hereabouts has slowed with the new year. Alas, peace and quiet are not the column writer’s friends. The sudden change of pace means that yours truly must monetarily search far and wide for fat targets. Traffic-clogged bridges and New Jersey politicians? We can do that.

The new year is a time of renewal, sure, but even on this uplifting note I’ll admit it can be a real pain trying to keep this space fresh with new ideas and imaginative ways of expressing them. (A loyal reader recently told me how unimpressed he was by one of my 2013 columns penned in the style of a Twitter feed). Yet as much as one might get to feeling beaten down by the small-town column-writing gig, there’s always the big bucks to perk up one’s spirits. Another plus: seeing someone else attempt the art form and doing horribly at it. Seriously folks, misery does love company.

You needn’t be an out-of-work NFL head coach to realize that foresight is a heck of a lot more helpful than hindsight.