OMG… here we are entering another new year. Seems like just yesterday Twila and I were celebrating the New Millennium with a bottle of bad champagne while sitting on the square in Benton, Kentucky waiting for the power to go off and the world to end. We were running a group of newspapers at the time and were there to watch the digital clock on the bank change over or go out or explode or whatever was going to happen. Of course, nothing happened. It changed from 11:59 to 12:00 and kept running and that week a picture I took of it reading 12:00 ran in our paper. Sorry, I digress.
So, another new year and time for us to all make New Year’s resolutions. You know, those promises you make to yourself… or maybe to those close to you… that usually last until the next weekend. Maybe the next month, if you are truly dedicated. Yeah, been there… done that… got the T-shirt as they say.
But this year, I’m thinking with the shape the world and specifically our country is in, we need to make some truly life-changing and maybe world-changing resolutions. Let’s not worry about losing a few pounds or saving a few more dollars. Let’s worry about making this a better place for our kids… and grandkids.
I normally shy away from discussing politics with anyone but Twila… who is probably even more conservative than I am. But let’s talk politics for a minute. When did we all get so spoiled that we believe the only way to be happy is to have everything our way? What the hell happened to compromising and trying to make everybody a little happy while all also sharing the pain? Sadly, I know most politicians… especially those on the national stage… see their job as getting re-elected and only serving the people who voted for them instead of serving the entire population of their particular area. I’m sick of listening and living through their selfish, self-centered battles. I can live with some of the things I don’t agree with if I also get a few things I think our country needs. Why can’t it be gray instead of black and white? Compromise a little.
And I don’t know about your mother, but mine taught me to think of the other person ahead of myself. And sometimes I hate that it took so well. Whether it is letting the other guy out of a parking lot into busy traffic or helping out during a disaster… why can’t we all think of the other person first? Something as simple as not turning your phone up loud to watch a video in the middle of a busy restaurant. Really? You don’t know that is annoying all the people around you? Or, if you are going to be on your phone at the stoplight, at least hold it up on the top of the steering wheel so you can see when the light changes. I’ve used my horn more in the last three or four years than I did the entire first 50 years I was driving.
Wouldn’t it be nice to feel like all the politicians were trying, as best they can, to serve all the people? And wouldn’t it be nice not to have to blow the horn at the person sitting at the light 15 seconds after it changes? And what a great world it would be if we all just tried to get along with each other. Yeah… I know… not going to happen. And little ol’ me in my little ol’ magazine will not change the world. But, if you try a little bit, and five of your friends try a little bit, and so on and so on… well, you get the idea. It has to start someplace and as far as I’m concerned there is not a better place in the world than South Central Kentucky. So, why can’t it start here? Happy New Year and God bless you in 2023 and beyond!
