I have had it with 2016. 
Cannot wait for it to come to an end.
It’s been an endless procession of pain and misery and tears. Of death and destruction. Of negativity. Pessimism. Shattered hopes and dreams.
The world over. Not much in the way of good news anywhere.
People have been felled by bullets, by bombs, by acts of terror, by earthquakes, by floods and fires, by hurricanes and tornados. They’ve been taken because of alcohol and drug abuse. By their own hands, from cancer and heart disease and diabetes. From years of excess and years of neglect.
Some too soon and some from old age.
We’ve lost those we’ve never heard of and those we worshipped from afar. Those whose poetry and music and performances and stories and athletic prowess and acts of heroism and sacrifices we admired. They were our heroes and we counted on them to help us get through the trials and tribulations of our lives.
And now they’re gone.
One after another, in rapid succession. Too rapid. Way too rapid. There’s not even time for us to catch our breath in between.
Merle Haggard, Glen Frey, David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen and Leon Russell — all gone this year. Muhammad Ali and Gordie Howe. Elie Wiesel. Harper Lee. Gene Wilder, Alan Richman. Morley Safer, just to name a few. All in the same damn year; and the year’s not over yet.
Unusual for me to be so morose. Note to self — and then there’s this, from Leonard Cohen …
The birds they sang
at the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what
has passed away
or what is yet to be.
Ah the wars they will
be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
bought and sold
and bought again
the dove is never free.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
…
365 And Counting 
Me too!
Horrible year.
Leonard Cohen, alav ha-shalom, always seems to have said it best.
Yes, I agree. What a loss!
But what a legacy 🙂
Omg, an incredible legacy. He will live forever.
Oh yes.
He just seemed ageless to me, so his death was so shocking. No one knew he was ill.
He was not long since touring. But now he is ageless.
Yes, so true.I spent the entire weekend listening to his music and reading his lyrics. There will never be another.
I’ve been playing them too…and introducing a couple of people who had somehow ‘missed’ him to his work.
Funny, he had such a huge impact on our lives it’s hard to believe that anybody missed him, but I guess there are.
It depended what musical path you chose back in our day… and these days the youngsters probably wouldn’t come across him. Yet I was amazed that Nick had missed not only Cohen, but Hendrix and other ‘greats’.
Yes, I suppose you’re right. Although with all his touring and has consistently found new, young audiences. Interesting that your son also missed Hendrix. We really do live in our own world, assuming “our” greats are SO great they are automatically everyone’s greats.
Yes, I had fun taking control of his sound system one day and educating him 😉
Ha. I’ll bet you did! Hope he thanked you 🙂
Weeelll… he said I had to uninstall the software that allows me to control the music he pipes all over the house.
As if 😉
As if 😉 lol
😀 x
I feel that the moon has been in retrograde for a year….but dread the next 4!
Exactly, me too! And how could I have forgotten that travesty of an election and those evil men now in charge.
I know how you feel. But I suggest reading this: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/The-Law-of-Attraction-Real-Life-Stories
Will do.
And here was I thinking at last a political free post. If you have the time Fransi as you did mention The Hag at the top of your list check out the Vince Gill Tribute Song He wrote and performed dedicated to the peoples poet. Chris.
I will Chris, thanks 🙂
Agreed
Yes, unfortunately you had a front row seat to some of the horror …
I share your sentiments regarding 2016 and loved the word of Cohen, so perfectly phrased, so eloquent, that give us hope for another brighter day..that’s all we have
Thank you. Yes, we will always have his words and his haunting melodies.
And now Gwen Ifill. I don’t look forward to this year being over. Obama will still be president to the end of it. I fear for our country in the coming year and years.
Yes, another enormous loss. And yes, I also fear for your country and for mine and every other.
Don’t be jittery, dearest friend. Empires rise and fall, and yet we survive. We always
survive to write poetry and songs; to dance joyfully, to build, and yes to destroy; to
write extraordinary works of literature; to embark in great deeds of heroism. As we
hate so we love, at times with great passion, for it seems to me that is our nature.
Of all the creatures on this planet, we are the only ones that are self-aware and that
love to look at a super moon, a rose, a kitten, a new born with awe and joy. Be aware
but don’t despair for that is exactly what the forces of evil want and need to succeed.
Yes, we have always survived, even in our darkest days, I am not disputing that. If I have given you the impression that I am filled with nothing but despair, that is not the case. Of course we have to continue living our lives, I know that. But I can’t quite “dance joyfully” yet.
I am concerned, I won’t lie to you. The world is becoming more and more volatile — this started well before Donald Trump announced his candidacy. There are a lot of truly bad guys in positions of power — uncomfortably close to home now. There is no denying the prevalence of hatred and bigotry out there — even here in Canada as I’ve personally become aware recently. These are very unpredictable times, we simply don’t know what’s going to happen. We’ll find out soon enough. En garde!
En garde!…Yes. Yet consider how horrified we where with Bush, Cheney et al.
Something has changed since then…we are so inter-connected. Social media has
not made things any better by spreading some truths, half-lies and lies, therefore
clouding one and all subjects, hard to sort it all out at best, yet we must and retain
our sanity for all the days to come, brighter ones. Maybe we should use L. Cohen”s
last two lines of. the poem above and used it as our mantra…we could do worse 🙂
I totally agree about all the fake articles all over social media. But they’re not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the legitimate press, the hours and hours and hours of footage of Trump at rally’s and interviews … last Sunday’s Jake Tapper (CNN) interview with Paul Ryan who refused to say whether or not millions of seniors and poor people who have health insurance through Medicaid will continue to have it after they repeal Obamacare … I’m talking about Steve Bannon being appointed a key advisor to Trump — this is similar to the role Karl Rove played in the Bush administration … the fact that Trump and Ryan and the ultra right wing conservatives who now hold all the power think climate change is a hoax and have promised to do away with the EPA. There is Trump’s stand on NAFTA, and trade in general, which could affect us directly.
Hate and bigotry know no borders and Donald Trump has opened the floodgates. This on CBC yesterday: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/east-york-alt-right-racist-posters-1.3850386 Some of my own Huff Post Canada blogs have gotten such hateful comments, from Canadians from coast to coast, that Huff Post removed them.
Am I building a bunker? No. Am I wallowing in misery, cloaked in doom and gloom? No. Am I so convinced that the world is coming to an end that I’m cashing in my savings and preparing to go on a spending spree? No. But I am not trying to convince myself that this, too, shall pass. I’m hoping it does, but I can only go as far as being cautiously optimistic right now. There is too much real evidence out there that we could be in for a bumpy ride.
There are real and serious threats to the U.S. and to the world.
Oh yes it has been quite a year but I am a little aprehensive about what lies ahead in the coming year.
So am I, and I don’t think we’re alone.