A few thoughts while reflecting on the year 2021

 

I am sitting on my sofa, a small dog sleeping at my side, following the time-honored tradition of reflecting on the past year and preparing for the year 2022.

I consider 2021 to be a good year, in spite of the challenges and trials that visited the nation and the world. 

Lori and I purchased a new vehicle (used, actually, but new to us), we enjoyed a summer trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, and we celebrated Christmas with a sibling we haven't seen since Covid-19 arrived in the U.S. 

Most importantly, we end the year with all of our family members in good health. A few good friends joined the ranks of the departed, and they are missed. We give thanks for having shared their journey, if even for a brief moment, and pray we will meet with them again.

Lori and I will celebrate tonight with dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, a tradition we have followed for more than a decade now. A movie at the local theater was included in years past, but the pandemic forced our moviehouse to close its doors for good. I'm OK with that. My celebration is complete with just a quiet meal with my lovely wife.

I enjoy standing outdoors at midnight, listening to neighbors welcome the New Year with firecrackers (and a whole lot more). My days of playing with explosives are done, but I still get a kick from all the noise others produce. It is a challenge lately to stay up until midnight, but I plan to be outside, observing this tradition tonight, as I have for at least 40 years. 

We parted company with the late-night partying years ago, nearly 20 to be exact, and prefer the low-profile approach to the New Year. I enjoyed those gatherings as a younger man, but I don't miss the hangovers. We focus our energies now on celebrating the first full day of the New Year.

We celebrate with a variety of small plate foods. It's a tradition I picked up from a friend's family, after attending a gathering in their home in the early '70s. The party included some wonderful food and fun activities. It occurred to me that so much emphasis is put on the celebrations of the Eve that the day itself is overlooked. So I embraced and adopted a new tradition. 

We revised and changed the New Year's Day menu options over the years. When my daughter was in high school and college, we spent the day watching the college bowl games and enjoyed the Festival of Salty Snacks. It was mostly junk food, but we did include a few healthy options and some actual food, usually chicken wings and pizza. The eating would commence in the morning, while viewing the Tournament of Roses Parade and continue throughout the day.

Time and my doctor recently forced another menu revision. We now offer more healthier options (veggies, sliced fruit), but we still have a few salty items, and the creamed herring, of course.

Garrison Keillor, one of my favorite writers, offered the following this morning. I will end with this, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

    

"Today is New Year's Eve, a day to take stock of the old year and make changes for a new year.

People across the world tonight will be linking arms at the stroke of midnight and singing "we'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne," from the Scottish folk song popularized by Robert Burns (books by this author). In Scotland, New Year's Eve marks the first day of Hogmanay, a name derived from an Old French word for a gift given at the New Year. There's a tradition at Hogmanay known as "first-footing": If the first person to cross your threshold after midnight is a dark-haired man, you will have good luck in the coming year. Other customs vary by region within Scotland, but most involve singing and whiskey.

English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (books by this author) wrote: "Ring out the old, ring in the new / Ring, happy bells, across the snow / The year is going, let him go / Ring out the false, ring in the true."

Here in the United States, the custom of raising and dropping a giant ball arose out of the time when signals were given to ships at harbor. Starting in 1859, a large ball was dropped at noon every day so sailors could check their ship chronometers.

The Times Square celebration dates back to 1904, when The New York Times opened its headquarters on Longacre Square. The newspaper convinced the city to rename the area "Times Square," and they hosted a big party, complete with fireworks, on New Year's Eve. Some 200,000 people attended, but the paper's owner, Adolph Ochs, wanted the next celebration to be even splashier. In 1907 the paper's head electrician constructed a giant lighted ball that was lowered from the building's flagpole. The first Times Square Ball was made of wood and iron, weighed 700 pounds, and was lit by a hundred 25-watt bulbs. Now it's made of Waterford crystal, weighs almost six tons, and is lit by more than 32,000 LED lights. The party in Times Square is attended by up to a million people every year.

Other cities have developed their own ball-dropping traditions. Atlanta, Georgia, drops a giant peach. Eastport, Maine, drops a sardine. Ocean City, Maryland, drops a beach ball, and Mobile, Alabama, drops a 600-pound electric Moon Pie. In Tempe, Arizona, a giant tortilla chip descends into a massive bowl of salsa. Brasstown, North Carolina, drops a Plexiglas pyramid containing a live possum; and Key West, Florida, drops an enormous ruby slipper with a drag queen inside it."

-- Thank you for reading. Comments and questions are always welcome. Feel free to comment here or send an email to kbotterman@gmail.com. May you enjoy a blessed and healthy new year.

Another round of quick hits

 

I read a report last night in which some blamed Walmart for the killing of "mom and pop" stores. It's an interesting myth, in my opinion, and one that refuses to die. Walmart, as the story goes, used its huge stores and vast inventory from China to wipe out small, independently owned shops and stores.

It was a storyline developed by unions back in the mid-80s. Organized labor has long hated Walmart, mostly because the company had no unions for decades. The myth had legs, but it wasn't true then and it isn't true now. I won't rehash all the economic data that dispels the myth - there's just too much of it. 

If you're really interested in pointing a finger at who helped Walmart succeed and take out some of its competitors, look around you. The American consumer - your family, friends and neighbors - opted to shop at Walmart. The marketplace worked as intended. It is that simple. And then the Internet came along.

Time with Fezziwig and company:

Fulfilled one of my Christmas traditions last night with my annual viewing of "A Christmas Carol" (1938). It's my favorite version of the classic story. It's just over an hour in length but manages to remain loyal to Charles Dickens' story and entertain audiences. 

I first saw this version in the early 1970s, on Channel 9, WGN, out of Chicago. It was screened annually on "Family Classics," a Sunday afternoon program that featured old classics from the 1930s and '40s. My siblings and I watched this version nearly every year and enjoyed more with each passing year.

One a more serious note:

There's not a lot that frightens me at my age. I understand I have more days behind me than in front of me. I get it. Not looking to end things early, but I know the show will end at some point. The older you get, you find yourself making peace with certain facts. There is one thing lately that I find unsettling as I learn more about it - fentanyl, a deadly form of synthetic heroin. 

It's present and available in my home county. It is cheap and lethal, according to authorities, and it's impact is devastating to individuals and communities alike. I try to read as much about it as possible, and there are many good documentary productions available. I recently watched an expectional one, "Opioid Tragedy: Inside the Fentanyl Crisis." It's not an easy film to watch, but it is interesting and informative. 

-- Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment here, or send an email to kbotterman@gmail.com.

A few quick hits to start December

 

I don't know about this:

Brian Kelly accepted a 10-year deal worth $95M to coach the LSU football team, leaving Notre Dame behind. It makes sense Kelly would make the move to the SEC. Although Notre Dame is ranked in the Top 10 at present, it is not a contender for the National Championship and probably will not be a contender next year.  LSU, a top-tier SEC program in years past, is a good shot of at least making the college football playoffs under Kelly. 

The move looks good for both Kelly and the school. But it doesn't seem like a good fit to me. Time will tell. But $95M for Kelly seems absurd to me, and might force me to rethink my interest in college football. 

A bad idea is a bad idea:

Four members of Congress recently introduced a bill that would provide government support to newspapers, mostly by making it easier for their owners to list the publication as a non-profit. The politicians contend that newspapers are vital to public accountability. It's a bad idea, I think. If you want to alter the tax code to assist all businesses, I'm all for that conversation.

Revising the code to assist newspapers is a step in the wrong direction, because it ignores and attempts to override what the marketplace already has accomplished - the natural elimination of unprofitable, unpopular operations. If a newspaper was popular, readers might subscribe to it. I can't see why taxpayers should prop up a business that consumers have rejected. But that's me.

Are they truly offended or just partisan?

During the past few weeks several friends who self-identify as Democrats shared concerns they have about seeing the "F" word in anti-Biden flags and bumper stickers. Many express dismay at the vulgar word, decry the erosion in the quality of public discourse, and label those who use a variety of derogatory names (frequently unaware of the irony).

I question the sincerity of their concerns, because each of them were as silent as rocks when the Left threw nearly every vulgar word in the book at President Trump during his time in office. They didn't seem concerned then about coarse words in public speech, but are worried today. Could it be it's because the harsh language is now directed at a Democrat. Yeah, probably. For the record, I try not to use such language and would not fly a flag that contained a vulgarity. But political speech often is not pretty or polite, and it's not up to me to dictate how others express themselves.

A quiet and pleasant Thanksgiving celebration:

My wife and I celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving Day this year. Our observation involved just the two of us, and Otto, our family dog. It was a calm and pleasant time. I enjoy time spent with our extended family, but this quiet before the hectic days of the Christmas season was much appreciated. We enjoyed a traditional, homemade dinner, and I enjoyed a short nap after dinner. We spent Friday putting up our Christmas tree and other decorations. I can't say I'm ready for the frantic pace of the weeks ahead, but I am rested.

And now for Christmas music:

I am enjoying the 2021 installment (and each of the previous installments) of the London Symphony Orchestra's collection of Christmas music. Some commercial radio stations started playing "seasonal music" in October or early November, but that's far too early for me, and I can't stand what they air.  Now that Thanksgiving 2021 is in the books, I shift my attention and my ears to traditional Christmas music. I hope you enjoy it, too.

-- Thank you for reading. I always appreciate comments and feedback.