Just the other day, I picked up my annual Normal Rockwell calendar from the drug store for 2015, and as I thumbed through the months, I began to feel a little sorry for 2014.
Many people are glad to leave one year and move to another, due to a year full of problems, but I have been one to always enjoy the past. I feel with history you know what you have had, and with the future there is certainly a lot of unknowns.
I know the excitement of a new year is where we like to direct our thoughts during this time, but there were 365 days in this year that could also use our respect.
The year 2014 has possibly seen as many changes in the way we do things as any so far in the 21st century. Cell phones have become the norm for all of us, to the point where it is the normal standard to make an announcement before every event, including church and funerals, to silence them.
More people filed their income taxes electronically this year and refunds were received faster, as well as spent sooner. We now have our paychecks automatically deposited and no longer receive the enjoyment of really seeing how much we have earned when we cash a check at the bank.
Things that only appeared in comic books when I was a kid have become a part of our everyday lives. Our pets are implanted with chips so they can be identified easier, while our identity is being stolen faster. We now can Google electronic maps right from our phones to help us locate people we never go visit in the first place. We have visited more people this year with Facebook, without leaving the house, than ever before, but also with this same social media we can make a mistake with the whole world knowing it in seconds.
Farmers drive tractors using information from satellites in space. We also have seen the increased interest in buying local and growing things in our own backyards.
Just what does 2015 hold for us? That’s a question that no one on this Earth can answer. Will we have a good economy, better farm prices, a cure for cancer, normal weather conditions or non-normal weather conditions? That is yet to be seen.
I do know that it will contain 365 days, with each day using 24 hours. In between seasons and holidays, there will also be days of our usual work, paying bills, buying groceries, going to school and helping others. However, each day will be whatever we make it.
Nobody really knows what this next year will include, but the important thing is not to let it go by without giving it a chance. The “Good Book” tells us that no one knows what the morrow may bring.
Happy New Year!
Pettus L. Read writes for the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation. He may be contacted by email at pettusr60@gmail.com.
