Sempre queremos fazer balanços nesta altura do ano.

The echoes of Sept. 11 are felt in the architecture and context of our public buildings as illustrated by this security booth that now stands at the base of the Washington Monument. (Tribune photo by E. Jason Wambsgans) August 24, 2006

Kelly Frantz is caught in a pensive moment in her house in Tonganoxie, Kansas. Frantz is the widow of U.S. Army Spc. Lucas Frantz, of the 172 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, who was killed in Iraq in August of 2005. About 40 percent of the more than 3,000 U.S. troops who have died since Sept. 11, 2001, had a wife or husband waiting for them back home, most of those spouses women. “When you think of a widow you think of an older lady, maybe 60 or 70, not a 23-year-old,” says Frantz. (Tribune photo by Kuni Takahashi) September 26, 2006

A black-capped chickadee afflicted with West Nile virus lies quietly in a box during the intake process at Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation in suburban Barrington where wildlife rehabber Dawn Keller tends to the medical needs of hundreds of injured animals and birds. (Tribune photo by Scott Strazzante) July 1, 2006

The gallery erupts as Tiger Woods sinks a birdie putt on the 14th hole during Round 4 of the Cialis Western Open at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in south suburban Lemont. Woods shot a 68, but it was not good enough to beat Trevor Immelman, who won by two strokes. (Tribune photo by Scott Strazzante) July 9, 2006

A New Orleans window fan lies on its side, its blades flicking the overgrown weeds as they twirl in the afternoon breeze. It is virtually the only activity in this desolate part of the post-Katrina landscape. (Tribune photo by Pete Souza) May 31, 2006

Mario is 40 and an illegal immigrant from Guerrero, Mexico. He had warned the owner of the Diversey Avenue dry cleaner where he worked that the shop’s commercial steam press was old and dangerous, but his boss told him to forget it, and Mario, afraid of losing his job, did not say another word. And then one day the massive press collapsed on Mario’s arm, causing severe burns and other injuries. Because of the accident, the boss let him go, without severance pay, worker’s comp, or health insurance to pay his medical bills. (Tribune photo by Abel Uribe) January 1, 2006

Ready. Set. Soar. That’s the motto of Chicago’s new professional women’s basketball team, the Sky. Brooke Wyckoff, 21, a forward with the team, has her portait shot at North Avenue beach for a series of stories on the new team. (Tribune photo by Heather Stone) April 21, 2006

Nick Foley, 11, is comforted by his mother, Polly Foley, on Dec. 13, 2005 as he struggles to climb the stairs during a physical therapy session at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Nick spent 41 days at the hospital recovering from the Nov. 5, 2005 attack by three pit bulls in his neighborhood. He sustained more than 100 bites and tears from the mauling. Nick's story ran in the Tribune over three days beginning Aug. 13, 2006. (Tribune photo by Jim Prisching) December 13, 2005

Barbara Cardelli, left, is comforted as she and John Cardelli, right, mourn the death of their son, Marine Pvt. First Class Sean Cardelli, who was killed by small arms fire while on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq on Feb.1. They stand over Sean’s casket at Mount Auburn Cemetery in suburban Stickney. Barbara holds the Purple Heart awarded to her son posthumously. (Tribune photo by Antonio Perez) February 9, 2006

Rosie Simpson, who was part of a retrospective on the Chicago Freedom Movement, the 1966 Chicago open housing crusade led by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., poses in a vacant lot at 73rd and Lowe in Chicago, where in the early 1960's she and other activists prevented the installation of mobile classrooms by Chicago Public Schools. (Tribune photo by Chris Walker) November 3, 2005

Children nap at the Multi-Hogar Res Plandor, a newly-opened pre-school in Catia, a slum of Caracas, Venezuela. The school is operated by Venezuela’s national petroleum company which is using the country’s oil profits to benefit the poor with free clinics, soup kitchens and literacy courses. Venezuela's role in the world's oil supply was covered in the Tribune's special report, "Twilight of the Oil Age" that ran on 30th of July. (Tribune photo by Kuni Takahashi) January 30, 2006

Sunday Jeremiah, 40, and Sunny Frederik plied the waters of the Niger Delta in Nigeria one November night in 2005 as flares from offshore oil platforms lit up the sky. The two fishermen did not catch enough fish on this night to pay for the gasoline they used in their outboard motor. Jeremiah's story was included in the Tribune's "Twilight of the Oil Age" special report published the 30th of July. (Tribune photo by Kuni Takahashi) November 4, 2005

On a foggy night in Pragelato, Italy, Austria’s Andreas Widhoelzl sails down the hill in the first round of the Men’s Long Hill Ski Jumping competition at the Turin Winter Olympics. Austria would go on to win the gold medal. (Tribune photo by Scott Strazzante) February 20, 2006

Escolhi algumas das fotografias publicadas pelo Chicago Tribune, ilustrando passagens marcantes do ano.

Uma perspectiva diferente, onde as coisas boas e coisas más acontecem por todo o lado.