Well, 2021 is drawing to a close. One good thing that can be said about it — it wasn’t as bad as 2020, that so far leads the list of worst years ever. Around this time every year, it’s nice to think back about the year that’s about to pass into history. Everyone has a different perspective and remembers different things, but here’s some of mine.
For a while this year it seemed that COVID-19 was in our rearview mirror, but it’s not. Maybe that’s one reason that 2021 didn’t live up to our hopes and expectations….
Kampala Harris became the first Black, Indian and woman Vice President of the United States. Donald Trump became the first president in history to be impeached — twice. A violent mob attacked the Capitol building. Elon Musk surpassed Jeff Bezos as the wealthiest person in the world. 2021’s Super Bowl, between the Buccaneers and Chiefs, turned out to be a real sleeper. A large container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal and kicked off a huge “supply chain” problem. The President’s dog bit a couple of people and had to go into “time out’ for a while. The Pentagon released its report on UFOs (now called “unexplained aerial phenomenon”) calling it a national security threat. The report never said it was aliens — but — it never said it was not aliens…. NASA landed a new Mars rover on the planet, named Perseverance — an appropriate name in 2021. There was a big to-do over a toy company releasing a gender-neutral version of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Six of Dr. Seuss’ books were taken off the market because they contained racist and insensitive images.The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were held in 2021 — with no spectators. Bill Cosby was released from prison after being convicted on a number of charges. The U.S. rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and WHO. The U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan. Raul Castro (Fidel’s brother) stepped down as head of Cuba’s Communist Party. President Biden signed legislation officially establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day — a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Britney Spears gained her “freedom” after 13 years of conservatorship. El Salvador became the first country to make Bitcoin a national currency.
That’s some of what I remember of 2021 — the year started on a Friday and will end on a Friday. It is the 21st year of the 21st century and the second year of the 2020’s decade. Like all years, there’s been some good and some bad. The United Nations declared 2021 the International Year of Peace and Trust. Even though I guess we didn’t live up that goal, it still was an improvement over 2020, and we can all look forward to 2022 being even better…..
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