A pause to calibrate

Today, we’re going to take a moment out of the dust storm that is news, America’s condition, and all that is amiss in our beloved nation and around the world. Today, we celebrate. What are we celebrating? Well, several things, but in a nutshell, us.
For one moment, we ignore the fracas outside the window of every place there’s glass, the division between the right and left, and between the group of people who possess enough wealth to be a small nation and those who are suffering on a daily basis. Today, we silence the hypocrisy of those who preach one thing and practice another, fostering the chasms which divide our nation, leaving it vulnerable to its own upper crust’s need for an even greater slice of the pie. Today, despite everything, we celebrate.
Chatterbox often refers to “Horton Hears a Who,” as the Who shout, “We are here. We are here.” The hope in that remark kept the Who going. It’s what keeps all of us going in our darkest moments and keeps the light on in the window while we battle the storms outside.
The world has its fair share of nonsensical people; who and where they are varies with opinions. Regardless of our personal opinions on that, we are here. We should take a moment to celebrate those of us who made it past our teens, fighting the impulse to car-surf while we waited for our frontal lobes to close. We celebrate those who survived the wars, home front discord, dubious White House administrations, a worldwide tidal wave of weather anomalies, plague, and so much more; we’re still here.
That which makes the difference between those who survive and those who don’t, we don’t really know, but we do know a few things. One is that those who do all the right things don’t always live to tell about it or land on top; those who do much of the wrong stuff sometimes do; and sometimes the opposite of both is true. Nothing comes from nothing? Nah, sometimes something does.
Thankfully, most of us, around the globe, are hopeful about our future and the future of our coming generations, and we work with that in mind. We either believe global climate overheat is a hoax and blissfully ignore it, or we are doing our personal best to decrease our own footprint and advocate for change. We either deny that there is a surreptitious effort to subjugate the lower classes into servitude once again in America and ignore it, or we work toward balance in economic survival for everyone.

There are enough issues to recreate the geodesic dome at Disney World a hundred times over but, today, we’re not interested in what divides us. Today, we’re all about what keeps us together and in motion, even if that motion is sometimes circular or a downward spiral. Often, it’s the setbacks that set us back on track. Around the globe and, especially, in America right now, we may be a bit of a mess but we can celebrate our tenacity and flexibility and diversity of everything including our opinions, and reinforce our willingness to achieve through compromise.
For us here at the Herald, we particularly celebrate right now. It’s the onset of a very special year. Still, years are tricky. Sometimes, we mark them before we complete them. At any rate, today we at The Herald begin our 20th year of publication. At its conclusion, we’ll celebrate even harder as we actually turn 20 … but then we’ll start year 21 (here is where I wish I could insert that emoji of that girl shrugging her shoulders). Anyway, here’s to the beginning of year 20.
By the end of calendar year 2021, the Herald will assemble its 1,000th volume, a feat to be proud of. We’ve evolved with the times, a necessary characteristic for all people and things, in order to survive all crises.
My column in our first paper ever was about “Striking Out,” meaning to never refuse an opportunity. I talked about taking chances, trying, and tenacity. “Life is the one World Series in which striking out is a good thing,” I wrote. So, kudos to the Herald for staying in the game.
And, even more kudos to all of us struggling around the globe, on the right, the left, up, down, and all around, for continuing to work at working it out. We are here. We are here … thank goodness and against many odds, we struggle to still be here.

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