Let’s move past 2017, repeating the good stuff and leaving the bad behind

In one word, describe 2017.

When I asked a few people for that one word, every single one of them rolled their eyes to the heavens and shook their heads. And they all used two words instead of one. Some responses: “A mess.” “A trip.” “OK Year.” And one that isn’t printable.

Actually it wasn’t all bad. Washington D.C. and Mother Nature weren’t the only ones putting the spin on things. Those fidget spinners were a big deal and once again we are wondering why we didn’t invent them.

It was the year of the unicorn. From Starbuck’s Unicorn Frappuccino to glittering makeup to cupcakes, the unicorn ruled. Maybe it was in hopes of escaping to a fantasy world.

If that’s the case, why were there movies such as the very scary “It” or “Get Out?” Yes, horror films were also big this year and if you weren’t afraid of clowns before 2017 you probably are now.

Personally I thought the video of the little girl being pulled into the water by a sea lion was scary enough. Thankfully she wasn’t injured.

Fake news and alternative facts, tweets, and a White House that needed a revolving door kept late night talk show hosts jumping for joy. At least they quit talking about President Trump’s hair.

And when a demonstrative guy, also with a bad haircut, named Austin Rogers won $411,000 on “Jeopardy” he jumped for joy.

But way too much of the news this year was not joyful: Terrorists using vehicles as weapons, a man shooting concert goers, suicide bombers, people being killed in their church.

Add to that wild fires, hurricanes and floods where people lost their homes, family members and friends. All of this made reading or watching the news stressful and depressing.

But what did all the bad news of 2017 show us? That Americans are one strong bunch of people who help each other when and where they can. We believe in “keep on keepin’ on,” so that’s what we do.

The day of the eclipse seemed like an escape because it was a day we stopped and looked up all together. Even though we’ve become a divided nation politically we were all doing something fun and interesting together across the country.

As the #MeToo list of silence breakers grows, so does the list of men who have sexually harassed and assaulted women. For this movement there are three words: It’s about time.

It has been a year of head shaking, but there were happy moments too. Just look at the grin on Prince Harry’s face. He’s going to marry a bi-racial, divorced American television star. I’d say the queen has mellowed, actually the whole royal system has relaxed. Seems Harry brought them into this century.

And talk about happy. Did you see the people at the Academy Awards from the movie “Moonlight” when they were told that they did win the Oscar for best picture? Warren Beatty opened the envelope and Faye Dunaway announced it was “La la Land.” The guy who gave them the wrong envelope, well, not so happy.

But it’s good to take a look ahead. This century could get even more interesting. Reports indicate there’s going to be more space travel and not for just astronauts. Those with unlimited budgets can put their names on a list to take a rocket ship vacation.

Self- driving cars are becoming more plentiful with improvements constantly being made.

Some have dreamed of a flying car and there’s talk there will be one on the market for $600,000. Gee, what could go wrong there? The way some people drive, they’ll no doubt be great as pilots.

Some people in California have developed a “hyperloop” for public transportation. The full-scale test proved the fast train through a tunnel would go from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 90 minutes.

I read someday all cell phones will be unlocked by facial recognition. The problem I see there is will it recognize me with no makeup on?

What we must do now is look back to see what we did right in 2017, and repeat all the good stuff. And bad stuff? Learn from mistakes and don’t repeat them.

Take a breath, think positive and simply hope for the best.

We have much to be happy and thankful for. Happy New Year!

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Let’s move past 2017, repeating the good stuff and leaving the bad behind."