2021 Hindsight

 

Oh boy! Another year in review! I realize this is a futile gesture on my part, but I'm going ahead anyway. Why? Because, dummy. I have a blog. 

I didn't bother to write one of these for 2020 because who in the name of Thanos would want to relive that moment of misery? This year was bad enough in so many ways, but at least there were glimpses of life in the fog, smog and smoke to remind us what life was like before it all went down. 

Naturally (or otherwise), we STILL had the Covid and all variants. Phase one was pretty much down and out by mid-year when many of us felt safe enough to go out not only go out in public, but to do so maskless. A trip to Costco without a face covering was near Nirvana. A visit to a restaurant was almost orgasmic. And finally getting together with loved ones? Fuhgeddaboutit.  Things began to reappear to what we used to call normal in a half-assed sort of way. 

Damn, wouldn't you know it the Delta variant began taking over and shit got real again. Just as it starts to go bye-bye, here comes Omicron to screw us all into we hope will not be oblivion. Omicron. Worst transformer ever. What's next? I'm sure there are more. How certain are we that this virus actually originated in China? It sure sounds like Hollywood is responsible for the bloody thing. Covid is like this TV series that is still inexplicably on the air way past its freshness date. And the variants? Spin-off shows of the same crappy format. Covid: Omicron. Covid: Las Vegas. Covid: Special Victims Unit.

Then there was the wacky weather that we were all dealing with and, just like 'Rona, continue to do so. There's no safe haven anymore, is there? It's all over the place. This past summer's heat wave about wiped us all out. 120° in Oregon is no goddamn way to live. Is it climate change? Well, it has changed so I guess the answer is yes. However, is it natural or unnatural? It's so bipolar that I have to go with the latter even if my logically addled brain points in the other direction. There's no doubt we have fucked up this planet beyond belief in the last century, so if all of this was supposed to happen, we could have had more protection if we only took care of it. But that would make too much sense. Ugh. 

Politics? We're still soaking in it. Anyone naive enough to buy the concept that Smokin' Joe Biden was gonna set things right after four years of Trumpamania probably believes the world will change with the changing of the calendar year. After all, 2021 began with the January 6 Capitol Riot and we're still reeling from its after effects.

Do I really have to point out the good things that occurred this last year? Just look on your goddamn phones. It's not like you actually experienced them, but you sure did chronicle them, didn't you? Trust me. They happened.

2021 was an obstacle course, kind of like those seen on American Ninja. How we have not all fallen into the water below or off the cliff entirely is beyond me. Maybe by sheer will we've made it all the way through to December 31. I guess it's all about balance, baby. Back and forth. Yin and yang. Karma chameleon. It comes and goes. Now, more than ever, this is the way life is for us. And going into 2022, it's going to be more of the same. So maintain your footing, use your upper body and mental strength and head toward the finish line. I'll see you at the end of the road. Remember when the mantra was "We're better together"? Maybe it's "Everyone for themselves" and that way we can help each other along the way. 

Happy New Year? We'll have to see about that, won't we? In the meantime, cheers to you, cheers to me and whatever will be, will be. 

Fail to the Chief

And so the big bad Boogeyman was driven from the land and disgrace. 

Everything was good in the world once again. And we lived happily ever after. 

Uh-huh. And everything changed on New Year's Day.

The final days of Donald F. Trump as 45th President of these here United States have been excruciatingly despicable and absolutely miserable 

for the country and for life itself. So you expected any less? How exactly was this different from the previous 3 years and change? But he's gone now so it's really not nice to speak ill of the dead. (Well he's dead to me) 

And yet who can we blame for this nightmare? Those who elected him? Well, I didn't vote for him, that's for damn sure. Little Hilly Clinton didn't get one outta me neither. So, wait I'm to blame? Face reality, you ideaological lemmings. I live in Oregon. You know, the Left Coast? This went to Hillary and so did her electoral votes. So shut up about that already. In my addled mind, she was a rotten candidate, so focused on breaking the glass ceiling that she forgot every single person below, propping her up would be cut to ribbons by the shards falling from above. She and the Dems underestimated Benito Trumpellini and he ran away with the win. I refuse to accept that my non-vote was in any way 

responsible for his victory. I feel exactly the same way when I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000. Did that serve to elect GW Bush as number 42? I think not. Besides, I don't have to justify my vote to anyone. What's that? Fuck me? No, fuck you. 

This time around I voted for Joltin' Joe Biden. Now I wasn't exactly Riden with Biden, I wasn't even Abiden with Biden. It was more like anybody but the Trumpasaurus. I would have voted for my coffee table but I wouldn't it wouldn't have had enough electoral votes to make a diff. I have issues with Joe. I also am not a big Kamala fan. But they were enough to get the job done and, hooray, they win the day. Will I rue the day I made this pick? Probably not. I stand by this choice too. Believe me, I hate having to vote for the lesser of two evils as I have had to do in most elections. But I'll own it as I have with all the rest. (See? I can adult too. So NYAH!)

But was the election fixed? Frankly, I think there were some improprieties. Watching the results, there sure seemed like a truck load of Biden votes got dumped in all at once, though that was just a casual  observation on my part. (I'm not above rockin' a few conspiracy theories of my own) The whole thing was a mess due to this pandemic, voting by mail, et al. Nobody was on the same page because a)no one knew what book it was in and/or b) they can't read. What a boondoggle.  And are the Democrats capable of the shenanigans they were accused of? Oh, heaven forfend. The end result was that Biden would have won regardless of this mess. It was still close real close. A nail biter as it were. As  far as the election being stolen, I'm saying no. Trump digging in his heels and refusing to concede was the delusion he propagated to the world. It served to fuel those goddamn deplorables of his to the point of internal combustion, egged on by Fox News and right wing-nut talk show hosts and well, look what happened in DC, the darkest moment in American history since 9/11. And that disgrace is what Donnie left on. Look where it got him. Another impeachment. A two-fer, as it were. again no surprise. His whole rise to power had been accelerated on the Birther lie, so why shouldn't his collapse and fall be triggered by another? 

Meet the new host of The Apprentice reboot!

Donaldo has always been his own worst enemy. He could actually have won a second term if he actually put in the time. But instead his narcissism, did him in hoist by his own petard. Check out the first debate with Biden when he went Full Tilt Buffoon. Just as everyone under-estimated him in 2016, he over-estimated himself this time around. He thought it would be a cake walk over Sleepy Joe, but he didn't do his homework and decided to coast on his persona, but the shtick after four years had grown stale and worn-out. He exposed himself, not as he did to Stormy Daniels, but to the electorate, as a cheap B-movie thug, bullying his way into the hearts and minds of only his most devoted acolytes. As such, the Trumpster went into the dumpster.

Now he's gone and Joe is in. Okay, what next? Back to 2016? Sorry, there is no do-overs in life. The damage has been done. We're still as the divided as we were two weeks ago. The healing can only begin if we begin to fill in the gaps. That is, of course, if they wish to be. Half the nation voted for Trump. What percentage of those were part of the Capitol mob or supported them is anybody's guess. Many did not, but are still disenfranchised at this moment in time. And what about the Left who did nothing bitch, moan and whine about every single thing this so-called President did each and every minute of each and every single day? Their hateful addiction will be tougher to kick than Don-Don's Twitter habit. 

Donny Do-Wrong claims he'll be back The Republicans won't have him. He's screwed that party seven ways to Sunday. A third party, perhaps? Maybe Don will invoke the spirit of Lyndon (the Douche) Larouche and give it the old college try. And if history has taught us anything:

One thing is certain. Donald Trump will go gently into that good night. Like a badly-conceived sequel to an inexplicably successful shitty movie, he will return. 

Threat or promise? You make the call.

Ten Years Later Than Never

Oh goody. It's the end of the year and another decade, so that means it's time for some reflection and to
pontificate on the passage of time to see where we've been, what we've learned and speculate on the future.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ......

Huh? What? Who's that? How did I fall asleep on my laptop? My face has keyboard marks all over it. Holy crap, I just backspaced the last decade! Sigh. If only...

Aw, bullshit. Life. That's what happened in ten years' time. A lot of ups. A lot of downs. Still managing the balancing act, though I wish it would stop tipping so much. I'm getting motion sickness and my arms are tired.

However, I'm choosing to focus on the highlights here. The bad times can take care of themselves and, frankly have done so already. They've had their way with me and everybody else out there, so instead of dwelling on them, I prefer to sweep them away like so many dust bunnies, at least for the time being.

The time being. Or should I say the time remaining? The mortality question or statement, for that matter, has been rearing its inevitable head as the clock continues to click away. As such, I prefer to to celebrate the good because it still exists in this increasingly angry, complicated and overly-caffeinated world. I'm just a sap at heart and therefore, an easy mark, but gosh darn to heck, I still maintain hope over cynicism because that's the kinda guy I am.

And I have several reasons to back this up. I'm crazy about my family, filled with loving, caring, intelligent human beings who make this world better by their very presence. Two new additions have doubled my grandpa ante, a one-two shot of granddaughters born on both sides of the decade. This all culminated in a brilliant family reunion this past August on the Oregon Coast.

In 2011, a summer vacation straight out of an MGM musical caused to fall in love with New York City, particularly my beloved borough of Brooklyn. (See the New York posts on my page: CHERNEY JOURNEYS) As a result, it seemed to set things in motion for me about how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I needed to get back to writing. I felt this was my last option as (please don't gag) an artist. I was wrong. I've been wrong for most of my life. It should have been my first option and stuck with it. But I dove back in, especially when good fortune came my way when I finally put myself out there. Once I was lost, but then I was found.

Great American Melodrama cast and me courtesy of Ed Thorpe

I'm sure I've bored you to horrors already with the success I've had with my melodrama and murder mysteryplays in the last few years, so I'll beg off...for now. But I would like to acknowledge and once again thank the following theater companies who have produced my work since 2014:

MEL O' DRAMA THEATER (Mel Roady is the Queen!) Nashville, TN
THE GREAT AMERICAN MELODRAMA AND VAUDEVILLE Oceano, CA
FOOTHILL THEATRE CO. Jackson, CA
AVENUE THEATER West Plain, MO
CHEYENNE LITTLE THEATER Cheyenne, WY
BRAZOS THEATRE Waco, TX
THEATER SUBURBIA Houston, TX
MANTORVILLE THEATRE Mantorville, MN
MT. VERNON COMMUNITY THEATRE Mt. Vernon, MO
STAGECOACH THEATRE CO. Louson County, VA
SUGAR HIGH THEATRICALS Galesburg, IL
ROGUE THEATRE CO. Sturgeon Bay, WI
DELTON ACT Delton, MI
SANZMAN PRODUCTIONS, Los Angeles, CA
SLV THEATRE CO. San Luis Valley, CO
BRICKSTREET PLAYERS Clovis, NM
RIO LINDA ELVERTA COMMUNITY THEATRE Rio Linda, CA

(For info about my plays, visit www.scottcherney.com)

I did manage to write a new book, an adaptation of my melodrama SONG OF THE CANYON KID, which was read by less people than saw the CATS movie. But it managed to gear me up for a personal triumph, the completion of the first draft of a novel I began 22 years ago, now in a major re-write stage. More information coming soon. Promise!

I'm going to close with this photograph of a couple of my grandchildren, Aefa and Sebastian, frolicking at the beach in Lincoln City, Oregon this past summer. I don't take many good photographs. In fact, not at all. When I get something like this, it's a happy accident. Now there's a good metaphor for the past ten years, a series of happy accidents amidst all the strife that threatens to overwhelm us all on an on-going basis. Look at those two in that shot. That's pure joy captured in that moment of time and it's out there not just for the asking, but for the taking. They're the future and they give me...here's that word again...hope. The latest addition to our Brady Bunch, Athena, fought like the little warrior princess to be here in this world. Why shouldn't we do the same to stay here? The love I have for my grandkids surely enters in this assessment and if it does, so what? They've helped me through the minefield this far. I'm ready for the long haul. Or I should say, the rest of the journey.


The Cherney Journey, ready to take on The Roaring Twenties.

Happy New Year and Decade, gang.