Our New Year’s Eves are quiet these days. We watched an Agatha Christie on television and went to sleep. But I’ve been saving a suitable tile from the New York subway system since my October trip to visit my sister, so here it is and Happy New Year!
2018 was not a good year for my sister, who was diagnosed with a bad brain cancer in July. But it was also a year we learned to be grateful for things like a clean surgery and cancer treatments without bad side effects. My perspective changed.
My perspective on the nation and on the future of the planet and my own role in it has also been evolving. I began to suspect that, other than our Bill of Rights, our country may not be as special as we thought. After all, all countries think they are special. And even the Bill of Rights can’t survive unless we commit to protecting it and interpreting it justly. Surely none of those rights were intended to lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent Americans every year. Perhaps 2018 was a turning point.
I’ve also been giving more thought to my role in global warming. Do I make too many unnecessary car trips when I could walk or take public transportation? Do I serve the family too much meat, especially beef? Should I find a way to plant more trees? I know I need to stop sneaking around the local laws against plastic bags and find a sustainable alternative.
I will be writing more about initiatives to protect the planet and will be looking for ideas to apply in my own life from you and from websites like 1MillionWomen. By the way, I learned about 1MillionWomen from a wonderful book called Climate Justice, by Mary Robinson. I hope you will put it on your list. It shows how the poorest communities are the first to feel the crunch of global warming and how, if we pay attention to those communities, we will also be taking arm against the sea of troubles that threatens us all.
Even better, the book shows how extraordinarily effective ordinary people can be when they have simply had enough.
May 2019 be a very blessed year for you and yours! Thank you for all you wonderful reads last year!
I am just happy to know you, Deb, and I appreciate your posts as much as you do mine. I learn so much from you about life in a different part of the country.
Happy New Year. Thank God for the success of your sister’s surgery and medical treatment, wishing her the best of health for the new year and beyond. Your thoughts about being the guardians of our environment are practical and it is the responsibility of each of us to implement for our grandchildren’s sake. God bless.
Most of us don’t know what we can do to help the planet. This year we will learn, share ideas, and start taking steps.
Happy new year. Looking forward to read more of all your different subjects you are sharing with us followers
Thank you for reading posts here. Hoping to chat by phone after your vacation.
I’ve been away and am trying to get caught up so, first, happy new year! And, second, how amazing was it, yesterday, to see the new members in the House of Representatives?! Maybe America can be special again. . . .
I’m almost afraid to hope. But one thing I know, young people who don’t know what’s impossible do the impossible again and again.