Good Riddance to 2017

in 2017This is the last day of 2017, a  year I will gladly watch disappear into the sunset.

This hasn't been a good year for me. I have had three eye surgeries, which caused me to miss two overseas trips. My 4-year-old air conditioning unit was struck by lightning and destroyed. It will be replaced at a cost of nearly $6,000. Hail damaged my tar and gravel roof, causing a leak in the kitchen pantry. The damage was small and easily repaired under warranty by my roofing company. But the damaged drywall in the ceiling still needs replacing.

On the positive side, I traveled to some new -- and some not so new -- places this year. I spent three wonderful weeks in Kenya at four different camps with three friends from the United Kingdom. I got to meet the 17-year-old Turkana student whose high school education I am sponsoring in Kenya. I encountered Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, whom I had met last year, while at the wonderful elephant orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya. Iain has been studying, and working tirelessly to protect, Africa's dwindling elephant population for close to 50 years. 

My dogs remained relatively health, and I rediscovered the joy of reading (which I never really lost) thanks to my Kindle, which allows me to have some 120 books at my fingertips even when I travel.

Gun violence remains unabated, with new mass shootings reported on a regular basis. According to www.everytownresearch.org, 83 Americans are killed by guns every day. And yet Congress, deeply in the pockets of the NRA, consistently refuses to take any action to curb the slaughter. Congress even forbids the Centers for Disease Control to conduct a study of gun violence. All members of Congress are willing to do is offer their useless 'thoughts and prayers.'

Politically, 2017 has been a disaster for the environment, for wildlife, and for anybody who isn't rich and white. The ongoing shenanigans of the US president continue to be an embarrassment, and the failure of the Congress to address his blatant conflicts of interest and lining of his own pockets by his constant trips to his resorts is outrageous.

I am somewhat encouraged, however, by the rising tide of resistance to this dictator-in-waiting. I am hopeful that 2018 will be a rejection at the polls of any elected official, regardless of party, who continues to put allegiance to party over the good of the country and its citizens. 

Whatever your personal resolutions for 2018, let us each and collectively resolve to work for the betterment of our country, our planet, our wildlife and our people in need.

Happy New Year, everyone.