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I struggle to think of a way to start this piece without sounding like countless others. Yeah. It’s a “new” year. It’s 2021……. Yay? We, who are still able to type and look at computer screens…and all who we know exist outside this domain…have survived a disaster year, a year which, sadly, did not celebrate the TV spectacle that WAS 20/20. I mean…how terribly cruel to not make a very special episode of that informational show–not it’s cheap crime or “what would you do” counterparts–on the very year with its name…er, number. And, how cruel that the very Olympics I was looking forward to enjoying had to be cancelled…or re-scheduled. How crappy is that?
But, aside from all the giant heaps of crap we may have encountered…and, more likely, heard about through–yes–MEDIA, social, broadcast or otherwise…there have been a number of wonders and natural gems that may have gone unnoticed, though those same media sources DID mention them…in smaller, less dramatic ways. No…the appearance of the “Christmas star,” something unseen in many years–possibly a century or more–something made mythical by stories from the Bible…was not as blaring as the latest death counts and vaccine details…BUT IT WAS OUT THERE!! AND, I MISSED IT BECAUSE I HAD THE WORST WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LOCATION, AGAIN!!
And, that is where I am headed with this post. It wasn’t just the Christmas star, a conjunction of two big planets in the sky, creating a bright light…which, somehow, was no match for winter cloud cover and “light pollution.” There have been numerous planet alignments and sightings throughout 2020 which were stellar–ha–to say the least. I managed to get glimpses of a few planets and one meteor shower, though not in the splendor, I imagine, would be found in an open field under a clear night sky, away from all the…civilization.
If we all could just tune out the damn dramatic, grim, tragic media that is only rocking in its chairs as it reports the terrible and disappointing numbers of…everything, we might be nourished with the wonders of the universe all around us; we might be uplifted in a grim time. But, not if our eyes are perpetually bombarded with artificial light and commercial crap.
As far as I am concerned, the fullness of electronic entertainment–as I would think of it as a kid–is lost. TV is no longer my friend. And, too many video games add to my distress rather than my pleasure. The media is full of robots made up to look…pretty?…while delivering filtered, skewed, packaged bads (not goods).
Tonight, go outside and see what you can see. If you are so very lucky, you’ll find a light that does not flicker. It is a planet, a neighbor you don’t often get to see. Say hi for me. And, tell them I long for their company. I’ll take a planet sighting or meteor shower over just about anything electronic, any day.
Happy 2021. Or, at least, make it a happy one. Don’t expect anything. And, if you observe the world around you, you’ll probably outsmart the dumb meteorologists who cannot predict when snow will fall. [I hate blizzards…except the ones that come in a cup with cookie bits.]
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