Dear George,
So far 2020 is a bit of a bust. I made a slew of New Year’s resolutions, and I’ve already broken every one of them. I drank too much scotch on Saturday night and promptly fell asleep in front of the TV. I didn’t lose any weight, probably gained a pound. Most days I overslept, sometimes till almost noon. I haven’t written a single poem, read a book chapter, or gone to the gym. And I haven’t yet come close to my daily goals of eight glasses of water and 10,000 Fitbit steps. It’s true that most of 2020 is still to come, but this is definitely a discouraging start.
New Year’s resolutions, of course, are a pain in the derriere. They involve giving up things that you enjoy and replacing them with things that require self-denial and deprivation. I would never make a resolution to eat more ice cream or watch more YouTube videos. These come easily and don’t require moralistic prodding. But gym workouts and losing weight are effortful and intrinsically unpleasant. I think New Year’s resolutions are excellent for twenty-somethings, but those in their 70s or 80s should devote themselves to leisure and life pleasantries.
2020 isn’t a monolithic event. Like all the years before, it will differ for every person. Our grandchildren will turn twelve during the year, and their 2020 highlights will include video games, Mardi Gras parades, summer camp, piano lessons, and school plays. My 2020, in contrast, will feature chamber music concerts, bouts of depression from reading New York Times stories, ingesting seven pills before breakfast, and keeping an eye on the stock market. I will share more 2020 experiences with Katja than with anyone else. However, when I looked at my January diary so far I found that there were 12 things that we did together and 18 things that I or she did alone. So, despite a lot of couple sharedness, it’s likely that 2020 will be about 60% different for the two of us.
The meaning of the New Year also varies a lot by age. One disturbing but indisputable fact is that the arrival of each new year means one year closer to the end of it all. This is barely worrisome at age eleven, but it takes on more significance by age eighty. About then each remaining year becomes more precious. My recent mind-set has been to do at least one significant or exciting event per day. (These aren’t necessarily brimming with excitement. Going to the Clifton Cultural Arts Center or taking a hike at Mt. Airy Forest qualify). In any case, it’s my aim to make 2020 more exciting than 2019.
The presidential election is the biggest event on 2020’s schedule. 63 million people voted for Trump in 2016, and most of them are thrilled with the prospect of his re-election. It’s puzzling to me that I don’t personally know even a single one of these people (or at least I’m not aware that I do), but that may be due to many of them residing in places like Wyoming, Montana, and West Virginia. Much to my shock and dismay, my home territory of Upper Peninsula Michigan is dominated by Trumpites, a radical shift from the Democratic populism of my youth. I am patiently waiting for Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown to enter the race since he is the one Democrat who is certain to trounce Trump. However, he continues to keep a low profile.
There are many things I’m sure we will enjoy in 2020 because we enjoy them every year, e.g., the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards, Masterpiece Theater, the tennis Grand Slams, rooting for UC and the Bengals, eating at the Gaslight Bar & Grill, the Cincinnati Opera season. The Tokyo Summer Olympics will be a special treat this year. Pinterest has analyzed searches by its 320 million users and has identified a number of emerging trends for 2020, e.g., ocean trash art (from pollution), androgynous wedding attire, gender-neutral names, thrift store crafts, lyang lyang oil, and granny pods (i.e., backyard cottages). The most popular names for baby girls in 2020 are expected to be Adah, Reese, Mika, Paisley, Amina, Teagan, Nova, Aura, Pearl, and Billie.
For the most part 2020 is still an unknown. It could be wonderful, it could be a disaster. Based on recent years, I expect it to be about 40% pleasant, 35% boring, 15% fun, 8% nerve-wracking, and 2% horrible. A lot of this, of course, isn’t under one’s personal control, e.g., politics, the economy, aspects of health and illness. However, within limits, one’s own choices strongly affect one’s outcomes. I hope that we choose wisely and with a sense of adventure (and that my first under-achieving week is not the final story).
Love,
Dave
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