The year started with me thinking "This Can't Be" - while still in denial of the "death in the family" that many of us experienced, aptly reflected by an obituary:
The nation's administration was an unprecedented revolving door of yes-men (and, yes, no women) with many of us saying, "This Can't Be!"
My Chinese friends consoled me that this was the Year of the Rooster, who welcomes the rising sun and spreads cheer on a bright morning - only for me to discover that the Rooster had started believing that he was causing the Sun (and the stock market) to rise, the unemployment to fall, and the nation becoming great. I said, "This Can't Be!"
The spate of sexual misconduct incidents - not only from decades ago, but from recent years - came to light and brazenly exposed the dark side of humanity. That this can happen in what is considered the most progressive nation on the face of this earth, had us saying, "This Can't Be!"
There was no shortage of mass shootings and other terrorist incidents - with perpetrators using low-tech improvisations on legally obtained guns to spray bullets, as well as unsuspecting "weapons" like pick-up trucks to plow down pedestrians. "This Can't Be!"
A passenger train went off the rails on its maiden journey. It was just over a century ago that a famous ocean liner on its maiden voyage had met a similar fate. The mechanical engineer in me said, "This Can't Be!"
But it was not all bad. There were glimmers of hope. We saw the election of Emmanuel Macron, and as importantly, the defeat of Le Pen; we saw the election of Doug Jones, and more importantly, the defeat of Roy Moore. The Solar Eclipse that traversed the country was not only an astronomers' obsession, but a conversation piece in tens of thousands of kitchens and family rooms.
I start 2018 saying "This Can Be!"
T.Ruth D'Mocracy, mother of Hope, Integrity, Grace, Liberty, Justice succumbed to injuries inflicted by B.Gotry and D'Vision. R.I.P.
(inspired/plagiarized from a similar obit over four decades ago from another part of the world)
The nation's administration was an unprecedented revolving door of yes-men (and, yes, no women) with many of us saying, "This Can't Be!"
My Chinese friends consoled me that this was the Year of the Rooster, who welcomes the rising sun and spreads cheer on a bright morning - only for me to discover that the Rooster had started believing that he was causing the Sun (and the stock market) to rise, the unemployment to fall, and the nation becoming great. I said, "This Can't Be!"
The spate of sexual misconduct incidents - not only from decades ago, but from recent years - came to light and brazenly exposed the dark side of humanity. That this can happen in what is considered the most progressive nation on the face of this earth, had us saying, "This Can't Be!"
There was no shortage of mass shootings and other terrorist incidents - with perpetrators using low-tech improvisations on legally obtained guns to spray bullets, as well as unsuspecting "weapons" like pick-up trucks to plow down pedestrians. "This Can't Be!"
A passenger train went off the rails on its maiden journey. It was just over a century ago that a famous ocean liner on its maiden voyage had met a similar fate. The mechanical engineer in me said, "This Can't Be!"
But it was not all bad. There were glimmers of hope. We saw the election of Emmanuel Macron, and as importantly, the defeat of Le Pen; we saw the election of Doug Jones, and more importantly, the defeat of Roy Moore. The Solar Eclipse that traversed the country was not only an astronomers' obsession, but a conversation piece in tens of thousands of kitchens and family rooms.
I start 2018 saying "This Can Be!"
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