It Was a Year... 2012

"You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time."
 ~Charles F. Kettering

[Reviewing a given year is certainly nothing new. Lots of folks look back and share their take on the good, bad and ugly of it all. Blogging (a lot) this 2012 doesn't make my perspective unique... but, I will try to do so concisely. Now, of course I've set myself up for the people in my world to say, "Hey, you forgot these issues, ya dodo!" Well, all I can do is give it my best shot...]
                                                                                                                      
Famine and flooding and droughts... protests and conflicts and Honey Boo Boo... 2012 was a year, wasn't it? We occupied Wall Street, elected an incumbent President and further diminished the ozone layer. We watched the Olympic Games and wrung our hands as the budget still wasn't balanced. We heard the stories of Trayvon Martin, Jerry Sandusky, Whitney Houston and Joran van der Sloot. Oil issues, gas prices, birth control and the I Phone 5, were all news worthy. The Costa Concordia and NFL replacement refs sank, and Super Storm Sandy hit, hard.

All  major issues, of course... nothing to be taken lightly.

Children were seen and heard. Broadcasts of heroes, prodigies, activists and medical miracles caught our rapt attention.Our kids  have been keeping our environment clean, breaking athletic records, volunteering, discovering, nurturing and "paying it forward." And, "Yes," spending far too much time plugged into things.

Finally, may I have your ear now about the critters of '12?

The world's largest snake gave me the willies, as did the lobsters morphing into bizarre colors. The fat cat was by far the fattest and the word's smallest dog fit into a tablespoon. Some canines got into trouble, and others became Man's Best Friend. A purple squirrel was said to be legitimate and a stingray photo bombed some tourists. And, there were animal heroes galore, and how 'bout the pigeon hunting catfish?

So...

"Cheers to a new year and another chance to get it right."
~Oprah Winfrey                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Post Script. I wrote the latter the day before the Newtown Tragedy.

On 12/14, I wrote:

It is so very hard to wrap my head around this. Simple, yet terribly complicated...THIS. Guns kill, people kill. Families survive, families break.

In my own backyard, there are cries of anguish. The horror is palpable...people falling to their knees in angst. Children, Dear God, the children...little ones.

And, what if...? What if this had happened here or there? What if a man had been stopped? What if we had all said,"Enough."

I put one foot in front of the other. I pray and scream and question and protest. I listen and reason and plan. I hug and hold tight, grasping, grasping, grasping.

It is so very hard to wrap my head around THIS...