Toodle-loo, '22!

This year, a show called Reboot premiered on Hulu. It's quite good actually, all about a revival of a supposedly beloved TV sit-com and I highly recommend it. However, the concept pretty much sums up the year 2022 for me. It all felt like a reboot. Look what happened. Inflation, the overturning of Roe v. Wade,  another uselessly overblown mid-term elections which don't mean thing since neither side got much swing, the Russians taking a u-turn for the worst as our favorite villains of the modern age and bringing with them the threat of nuclear war and so one and so frigging forth. Yep, a reboot...and like most of them, not as good as the original.

I suppose it's what we should have expected as we struggle to find our way out of the Neverending Story known as the bloody Pandemic. We lost so much ground and haven't gained much back in return. Two steps forward, one step back. (Thank you, Paula Abdul) More often than not, the numbers are reversed. When are we ever going get back up where we belong? (When am I going to stop referencing pop songs to make a point?) The world is wound so tightly that it's a only a matter of time when it breaks down altogether. Again.

So what to do, kids? Well, it is that time of year (you know, the end?) when we think that a change of the calendar will wipe the slate clean and we can start fresh once more. And after a few weeks, sometimes merely days, we come to the realization that we're just fooling ourselves. Why else do we make resolutions that we don't keep? Sunday ain't gonna be much different than last Sunday, let alone the day before. It hurts to be futile about the future.

Is it hope? Is this all we have left to hang everything upon? Faith? Are we so obstinate that we won't give in no matter what? Or, plain and simply, are we all clueless?

All of the above. And I'm right there beside you because I'm guilty of the same. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me every single time...aw, leave me alone...

But right when I'm ready to surrender to the onslaught of negativity and find myself searching for a permanent home amongst the downtrodden, I slam on the brakes, dropping all pretense and recall the words my four year old granddaughter Athena bestowed upon me on our last visit to Denver.

"Whenever I have a bad time, I tell myself to get over it and I move on."

Four years old. 

Yesterday on my drive home, I listened to a song from someone I am proud to call my friend, the brilliant singer/songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips  That tune, "Walking in the Green Corn", the title track from the album of the same name, sums it all up for how I am entering 2023. Yep, another song reference, but this time with a purpose. 

I'm going in, ready to combat whatever comes my way with every bit of optimism and hope that I can muster up. After all, in order to thrive, you first have to survive and I'm in it for the long haul. 

What do I think will happen in 2023?

Who knows? I sure don't.

Time will tell.

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.