That's My Story...And I'm Sticking to it...

That's My Story...And I'm Sticking with it...

Perfect Vision
2020 in the Rearview Mirror

I don't usually do a top ten list, but in this year of perfect vision, using hindsight, my vision is 2020. It would seem a top ten list is in order. Instead of zeniths, my list will hit all the nadirs which made this year one I will remember. If given a chance, however, I will ask God a few questions that I've written down here, but first is the top ten list that made 2020 a difficult year from a personal perspective.

Death of an old Friend: I will start here because Kenn has been my best friend since 1979, my first year in the military and his last. For whatever reason, we became best friends despite the fact we were polar opposites. He was not always an easy person to talk to as he was highly critical and opinionated, but he was also very intelligent, so our disagreements made our friendship stronger. He also associated with all three of my wives with two exes and one I'm still married to. After leaving the Air Force, Kenn came out as gay and he helped me understand that part of the LGBT community. He loved cats and hated dogs. He got his master's in political science and became a city manager for ten communities with populations under five thousand. In 2018, the doctor found cancer which meant he had to go on a special diet where he'd have to give up wine, the true love of his life. The cancer continued to spread. In February, he requested some time to get his head together, but in June I began to try to reestablish the connection, nut it seemed he has disappeared. Finally my. Wife Amy got a hold of one of Kenn's who told us, Kenn had passed away in April of a heart attack in his home in Colorado. There are few people in this world i will miss more than him. A huge Patriot and Brady fan, my love of football seems as empty as the stands and he is no longer there for me to tell he is wrong and full of...well I'm sure you know.
Friday, March 13, 2020: this is a date that, for me, will live in infamy as this was the last day I was in my classroom teaching English. We ended the school day early and sent the students home. I erased my board saving the date for last, never realizing I would not return. I have heard that the students do miss us, believe it or not. I guess Zoom is not enough sometimes. While I work out of my house teaching, my wife Amy also works from home as she is a nurse for Lane County who keeps in contact with her clients. Me, I'd rather be in my classroom.
Wildfires in Oregon: in September the skies of Eugene, OR turned a funny pinkish color and you could not breath their air as The Camp Creek Wildfire destroyed over eighty homes on the northeast side of the McKenzie River and causing the evacuation of nearly a thousand people. For two weeks, fire crews fought the fire while other parts of Oregon and California were dealing with wildfires. Wildfires are as close as you can get to living without being alive. I have a lot of respect for these fire crews and am grateful they were there when we needed them.
Car accidents: seven days into 2020 and my wife Amy had the Tundra pickup she was driving totaled by another driver who had run a red light less than a mile from home. Taken to the Riverbend Hospital emergency room, i was there as fast as i could with Skylar. Besides some expected muscle ache, Amy was alright and I took her home. The truck was totaled. Without the truck, I had to drive her to and from work. A week later driving my Kia Sportage, I was rear ended at a busy intersection in a rainstorm. Pulling over was difficult in crossing two lanes in rush hour traffic. When I called the police, they asked if anyone was hurt and since no one was, the said there was no reason for them to come out in the rainstorm since the driver already admitted guilt. Both Amy and I were traumatized when we got behind the wheel of the car.
Citizens who chose freedom over safety: being considered a high risk person in this Pandemic, it makes me wonder why as a species we have not gone extinct. Freedom has come to mean we can do whatever we want without restriction, but the second part of that is to accept the responsibility for our own actions. Often it is the second part that is ignored and this time around it was no different. According to those people who have dedicated their lives with the prevention of the spread of disease, we can prevent the spread of COVID19 by wearing masks, keeping six feet apart and frequent hand washing and/or sanitation. Common sense and yet we demand freedom resulting in the deaths of four hundred thousand people, many elde fly or at risk like me and my wife. We get this push back from people who feel their own personal freedom is more important and thus putting the rest of us at risk. This Pandemic is not a hoax as some of our leaders, who are not qualified, tell us. If we do not take this seriously, when the virus mutates, which it appears to be doing in England, climate change may not be the biggest threat to our planet.
Distance teaching: educators scrambled to figure out how to educate our children once schools were closed due to the Pandemic. The easy answer was to use technology without regard to the level at which each individual student was comfortable with using a computer, especially with the programs chosen for instruction. What we ended up with was a mix with some students falling behind academically due to this technology gap. Also what was not taken into consideration was the increased role of the parent in all of this. As a special education teacher, I have seen how my students are not faring well at all and continue to fall further and further behind their peers academically.
The election: I cannot believe the debacle we had during our last election in November. I will not even discuss winners or losers, just how it was handled on a local level and some of the techniques used to deny our citizens their right to cast their vote. Reports of voter fraud were found to be greatly exaggerated and rumors of foreign interference, while may have taken place, we still are not totally sure. What caused this was not incompetence on the part of those keeping track, but on the mere suggestion that the election was rigged. How can a process that has worked so well for two hundred years suddenly become so convoluted? Answer is simple, it did not, it was our perceptions. We can continue to count ballots until the next millinemum, but it won't change anything. There are no hanging chads or last minute gerrymandering. We must stop questioning everything or nothing will ever get done.
Antifa and BLM: my car was painted with BLM and my front license plate was forcibly removed during the protesting in Eugene over the murder of George Floyd. While those protesting Black Lives Matter remained peaceful for the most part, the Antifa groups were the ones who vandalized property in the name of the BLM protesters. The racial divide in this country must happen if we are ever to get to the point when all lives matter. Between the scar of slavery and Manifest Destiny, we must find a way to include all citizens in the American Dream which includes inclusion of all regardless of race, creed or gender. After reading a variety of African American authors, I cannot deny that we do not have White Privilege in which the law favors those who are white. It is going to take a lot of work on our part where there is an acceptance of our citizens of color, all color.
Cancer scare: Amy got a call from the doctor's office saying they wanted to see her right away. Since Amy has had three operations to remove her thyroid cancer, we both went into a funk, hoping for the best, but wonder if this was Chapter Four. While the surgeon has done a fantastic job considering the alternative, we both if this would be the one time. In 2014, due to cancer and my major heart attack, we lost our home in Arizona due to the bills. We wound up getting a house in Eugene. It's a really nice one story place with a small yard. As it turned out, they did not find any more cancer, so our holiday will be joyful.
Those who have left us in 2020: has anyone checked the obituaries of the people who did not make to the end of 2020 alive. It started with the tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter. Others followed like the recent passing of NFL Hall of Famer Kevin Greene. But for me, besides the passing of my best friend, one of my favorite principals at age 44 and 38 year old co teacher Miranda Green. Two weeks later we were informed a former student had died in a car accident. Courtney was my principal at Cactus Canyon Junior High School in Apache Junction Unified School District in Arizona and I know without a doubt she helped make me the best teacher I could be in so many ways. I only knew Maranda for about a year, but I did know she was quick with her smile and she was dedicated to her students. Her presence will be missed much more when we return to our classrooms.

This is not my usual submission to Reedsy, but 2020 has brought it's share of tears, it has also showed us that this was a year that would change our way of life, but at the same time it taught us some valuable lessons.

The Rest of the Story:

Most of us are glad to see 2020 in the rearview mirror just like in that Pearl Jam song, but even in a year that has treated humanity like...well a pile left in the yard...we must look back and say, “We made it.” Unfortunately many did not, so I’d like to offer some condolences. I lost my best friend, a person I worked for and a person I worked with. My heart was broken too many times to count at times, but I am grateful that my wife and I were able to work from our home. I don’t feel that distance learning was always good for our students, but it was all we had left. It was strange seeing the world from Zoom, but it was better than taking a chance with the Pandemic. I know there were a lot of people who did not feel all this was necessary. Only time will prove or disprove the actions we took to be safe. Washing hands is a good practice at all times as my wife would be glad to tell you. My wish for 2021 is that we start working together to fill in the potholes left behind by 2020.