I
normally am involved in the holiday season getting a tree, shopping for gifts
and helping Janet decorate. This year, I
just can't get into the spirit. Too many
things have happened in my life and all around me: the death of Janet’s dad,
her mom's illness, the elementary school shooting, Hurricane Sandy and the Fiscal
Cliff. I'm not only not festive, I'm
depressed.
The
passing of Janet's dad certainly puts a damper on the holiday spirit. In addition, Janet's mom has bone cancer
which is contained for now but won't be cured.
She's putting on a positive face for her youngest grandchild, but I feel
the pain in her heart and body.
The
elementary school shooting in Connecticut is horrific…The loss of 20 young lives
and their generations' loss of innocence. When I was growing up, I felt safe in
my elementary school even when I thought the outside world was going
crazy. It was stable and secure inside
James H. Johnson Elementary School -- who could imagine a crazed person killing
my classmates?
Hurricane
Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore where I spent my summers from a very young
age. We had a house at Ocean City, I
worked in Stone Harbor, and hung out with long ago friends in these and other
Jersey border islands.
I'm
distressed about the Fiscal Cliff which is looming over everything. The rich Republican white men want to protect
their lower tax rates and the country be damned!
So
in a nutshell, why should I be depressed? In the past month I've been surrounded
by grave illness, death, loss of innocence and looming financial disaster. It's
going to take me a long time to put a positive spin to this but I’m trying…
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