On the last day of this seemingly long year, some of us inevitably turn a little contemplative and assess the past twelve months and the changes they've brought to the world. In just such a mood I write this on a cold, sunny morning in central Alabama, while weighing my role in the universe.
From a personal standpoint, it's been a pretty mixed year. As are most of them, I suppose, with ups and downs that culminate in a general sense of turmoil or serenity, as the case may be. Early on in the year, I experienced a potentially serious health episode which resulted in my first ever ambulance ride and ICU admission. Things turned out alright, and I used the episode to spark a renewed effort in personal wellness. Through the rest of the year, I've accomplished some much-needed weight loss, improved my fitness, and improved some worrisome medical measurements. By December, my annual physical exam produced a panel of blood test lab results that were, as my medical professional wife called "textbook perfect." This is an area that I hope to continue in the coming year. This summer also saw a landmark birthday for me, which was allowed to pass with a minimum of fanfare, as I had hoped. Age hasn't produced wisdom, but it has certainly provided experience, which is maybe the next best thing.
The past year also saw our first real vacation in over five years. In it, I overcame my aversion to the hassles and disappointments that so often accompany modern air travel, and we had perfectly smooth travel to a beautiful location on the midcoast of Maine. Wonderful weather and beautiful scenery made it an enjoyable and memorable trip. I only wish such a trip could be reliably reproduced! Closer to home, I expanded my literary horizons with regular participation in the Trollope Society Big Read, where we read and discussed works of the prolific Victorian author. That's also something I will continue this year. This year I took the plunge and arranged to have professional landscapers to tend to our property, freeing me from the drudgery of lawn mowing and yard work. It's made a tremendous difference in my life, and I wish I'd turned to this option years ago. And finally, I've been diligently puttering along with Postcrossing, where I exchange postal messages with other like-minded people all around the world. The daily arrival of a tiny personal connection to another human being does wonders for one's outlook on life.
Taking a wider view, things are decidedly less rosy. My country continues to suffer a despicable felon at the head of government. In the past year, nearly everything that could seriously be said to "make America great" has been dismantled or seriously damaged. As a working research scientist, I have grown an astonishing capacity to absorb the daily developments that represent destruction of the nation's once respected and admired scientific system. Higher education is under assault, research funding is a shambles, once respectable agencies are now run by crackpot hacks, and the nation's proud scientific tradition is a smoking ruin. Restoration, if begun tomorrow, would take years to return us to the condition we boasted only 12 months ago. This is just the area of life with which I am most familiar. But almost every other aspect of American life has been systematically destroyed in the past year. The environment is being destroyed, the arts are being demolished, rule of law is being contorted to unrecognizable dimensions, public health, safety, and welfare are a shadow of their former selves, international relations are a shambles, and simple American principles like Freedom of Speech are no longer upheld. To merely express disapproval of the current regime is to invite thuggish retribution from the government or its agents. It is difficult for me to express how much I despise the current demented resident of the White House (what remains of it) or of his ignorant cult of supporters. Fortunately, Postcrossing members do not often delve into politics, and I am only occasionally required to apologize for the disgrace that my country has become.
Since my personal life is on balance a good one, and since the conditions of the wider world are so bad, perhaps it is understandable that my coping mechanism has been to ignore the outside to that extent possible, and instead focus on life close to home. If I were a better person, I might try to do small things to change the world for the better, for that's what will be required if we are ever to return to a sensible existence on this country. But I simply don't have that sort of energy. So I'll content myself with my books, my postcards, my experiments - in the laboratory at work, and in the kitchen at home - and try to hold on until the national pendulum inevitably swings back towards sanity. Will that begin in the year that begins tomorrow? I'm not hopeful. But it surely will eventually, given enough time. And I will try my best to endure until it does.
