The end of the year seems to bring out interesting statistics, which I never write down - and then wish I had. Last night on the news - the Dow had triple digit swings for 103 (or was it 104) days this year.Given that Wall Street is open 5 days a week, not 7 days, that's a lotta ups and downs.
Then there is the weather. So many statistics for 2011 that I can't begin to keep track of them. More major disasters than ever. Higher temps here, with record after record broken. One look out the window and I am not sure if it is early November or late March, with no snow on the ground - and none in sight. Clem threatened this morning to start up the mower and mow the grass for one last time in the year. A never-before-event in this part of the country.
We had deluges in July with many basements flooded in our community (we were lucky and escaped this calamity). Then came the first of August and we have had negligible precipitation since then - and are considered to be in a drought. We cut our road trip in the southeast short last March, because we were spending so much time trying to stay ahead of floods and tornadoes.
More seriously, were the tornadoes that destroyed Joplin, Missouri, wildfires burning a huge amount of acreage in Texas, and all the snow dumped on the NE coast.
There were the string of Congressional dramas and the multiple possibilities of government shutdowns. The polarized, paralyzed, and dysfunctional Congress high-lighted the deep political divide in this country, and the power of right-wing evangelical religions to dictate policy in our diverse country. At least it meant watching the evening news was like going to an exciting B-movie. Without popcorn.
And then there was Arab Spring, which has become Arab Year, the Tea Party, and the Occupy Movement. A global movement of disenfranchised people finding their voices. What 2012 will bring is any one's guess.
In the middle of it all were decent people who continue to reach out to neighbors and strangers. It is that decency that is the beacon for 2012.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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