2016: The Year That Was

As we get ready to close the book on 2016 once and for all, let us take a moment to be grateful that we’re still here and able to hear or read these words – or in my case, express them in the best way I know how. Together, we took a lot of hits and a few Ls and lost many soldiers along the way yet we still march forward to the beat with the optimism that 2017 will be a better year for each of us.

For example:

Too many icons of our childhoods died. At one point, it seemed like we were all moving from one funeral service to another and the dry cleaners were making a killing on our black suits and dresses but I’m not just talking about our family members. We can fill in the blank RIP (_______) and that may not be enough space or time to honor those who lived life to the fullest or were taken away way too soon, such as the babies in Little Rock; my stepdad-in-law; our church mother Sis. Jackson and mentor Deacon Reed; my counselor from elementary school Mrs. Weeks; Maurice White from Earth, Wind, & Fire; Prince; Harambe; Antolin Scalia; Zsa Zsa Gabor; Willy Wonka; David Bowie; Muhammad Ali; Craig Sager; America as we know it; and countless others.

If you wish to be funny, the botched demolition of the Broadway Bridge does count.

What saddens me (other than President Obama’s last few weeks in the White House) is how this year began with such promise and went down the crapper so quickly. Then again, I did work nonstop for four consecutive months covering a sick co-worker’s illness so I know how pitiful this year has become with the missed holidays and life moments as well as delayed vacation time.

I may not like my job, but I like having my job.

But 2016 wasn’t all the doomsday gloom that we remember it to be:  My wife got a much better car back in January; Caeli had a wonderful first birthday party; the church’s food ministry went live in April; and I am a step closer to selling barbecue full-time instead of sacrificing family time by working the night shift to provide for them. Once the legalities are taken care of, I hope to move enough meat to offset some of the overtime from the swamp and perhaps even enter a tournament or two!

While none of us want to imagine what a Trump presidency is going to look like beginning January 20, it is part of the reality we have to deal with for the next four years. I just hope and pray that our leaders have the gumption to be held accountable by the people instead of the dollars and think tanks that inevitably influence their decision-making abilities – and for those who voted for their skin folk instead of their spiritual/fiscal kinfolks, I learned religion (to them) only matters if it is of the right-wing variety that wishes a return to packing the rest of us into cans of sardines and mackerel so they can be the only fish in the sea. I also discovered an app to identify racists:  Facebook.

Just so y’all know:  When I post pro-black items and factoids and uplifting historical content it does not mean I am anti-white; I’m pretty freaking far from that. American history and most things of significance have been skewed to favor those who have been able to tell the story with a certain slant, and it is only recently when some truths are finding their way to the surface inconveniencing a populace who has believed for far too long in a solely Eurocentric world where the privilege really isn’t what it is cracked up to be. Keep in mind that he who wins gets to tell the stories no matter how inaccurate they turn out to be later.

What did 2016 actually bring us?

Conservative backlash with a vengeance (Van Jones called it whitelash), a newfound idolatry of the almighty dollar bill, and the byproducts of what happens when protected rights are weakened – and let’s not include having to jump through hoops to see justice within the legal system. How a jury in South Carolina could not convict Michael Slager for murdering Walter Scott on video camera is beyond me, but this is the America we’ve come to expect. Ditto for what happens when the Voting Rights Act are parceled out by the Supreme Court piece by piece even beyond the gerrymandering from 2010. To me, it seems like the Republican Party is leading us down a path similar to the apartheid regime of South Africa [where the white minority runs the country].

2016 also brought us a heightened awareness of mental illness and the value of breaking away from stress. Many of you may have noticed that I don’t post with the same frequency as I did earlier in the year – the reason was I needed some mental days (rather: weeks) to bounce back to being myself. The stress of overwork and being pulled in hundreds of different directions simultaneously plus my own stupidity have been the combined cause of losing it at work, a visit to a professional counselor, and otherwise living on autopilot.

Through it all, I am grateful that those who are reading or listening to these words are still with me in one capacity or another. Thanks to my amazing wife and toddler daughter for putting up with me all year long through the ups and downs of the journey; my friends, family, and neighbors for not forsaking me when I was at my lowest; the swamp for keeping me employed when the Keefe coffee alone wasn’t enough; our church family for being there for each other; and for even those who found me outside of their world or I don’t see enough, I’m glad you’re still around.

God bless, I’m out.