14 minute read
OPINION
PeoriaTimes.com /PeoriaTimes For more opinions visit peoriatimes.com
AROUND THE BLUHMIN’ TOWN Fasten your seat belt for the New Year, folks
BY JUDY BLUHM Peoria Times Columnist
Are you ready to board Flight 2022? Well, fasten your seat belts because we are on the verge of saying “hello” to a New Year. Ready or not, it is coming, so we might as well pop the cork, pour the bubbly, and watch the ball in Time Square (or boot in Prescott) drop. Time, once again, is marching into the beginning of a new calendar, dragging us along with it.
New Year’s celebrations have been going on for over 4,000 years. This is the oldest of holidays and was first observed in ancient Babylon with a festival that lasted for 11 days! It was those party animals, the Babylonians, who first came up with the idea to make New Year’s resolutions. What would those earliest resolutions be? The most common was to return borrowed tools. (If you have a few tools that you borrowed from a neighbor still in your garage, now might be the time to return them).
My colleague has made a resolution that she will not shop for any clothes or shoes in 2022 (drastic). I have a friend who says she is going to train her Arabian for a 100-mile race (unbelievable). A cousin claims she will not cook a thing in 2022 so she can “rest” her culinary skills and do more creative things (crazy). Hmmm, in my house not cooking translates to not eating. And so it goes.
But why even bother with resolutions? Aren’t they just impossible little statements that cause disappointment? Let’s get past this ancient ritual and just embrace the New Year with a reasonable attitude.
Mark Twain had a philosophy that we should keep all of our “bad habits.” He wrote that habits are like baggage that comes in handy when your ship is sinking and you need to throw something overboard. He claimed that when your health begins to fail, it is always good to have a “few bad habits,” like smoking, drinking and overeating, that you can “toss aside.” I mentioned this philosophy to my physician, and she adamantly disagrees. On that note, I suppose healthy eating and lifestyle choices should be a resolution worth considering.
Reflecting back on 2021 might cause us to wonder how the year flew by. Many Americans moved, left their jobs and worked from home. It seems like everyone was remodeling. Housing prices soared. So did gas prices and inflation.
We learned how to have meetings on Zoom and video calls became a big part of our life. Many folks limited travel, parties and gatherings. The coronavirus reared its head and still caused havoc. We experienced supply shortages that we simply aren’t used to in America.
And we cooked. As one woman emailed me, “Never did I consider that being an adult would mean that I will need to cook dinner every night. Of my entire life. For the rest of my life.” Yes, the cooking classes began at the beginning of the pandemic and have never stopped.
Welcome aboard Flight 2022. Takeoff is New Year’s Day. There is no baggage allowed on this flight. Only positive attitudes, hope for better days, and faith for reaching new heights.
Destination? New beginnings. PT
Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local Realtor. Have a story or a comment? Email Judy at judy@judybluhm.com.
Big Apple trip poses a question befitting ‘Hamlet’
BY DAVID LEIBOWITZ Peoria Times Columnist
Early on in your relationship, she confessed a semi-startling fact. While she had visited China as a little girl and walked along the Great Wall, never once had she been to New York City.
To her, the metropolis back east seemed like a gleaming trophy to life made large. Broadway, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty. Skyscrapers and a chance to stride up Fifth Avenue in spike heels, like Carrie in “Sex and the City.”
To you, the city was home once, the backdrop for a million childhood memories: a piping hot slice of pizza dripping with cheese, a walk around the Central Park reservoir, the concrete stoop fronting the old red brick apartment in Queens, the Garden for a Knicks game, a knish purchased from a street vendor and painted in brown mustard.
She dreamed aloud. You egged it on, and thus a trip was born. New York at Christmastime and for New Year’s Eve. Plane tickets were purchased; hotel, theater and dinner reservations were made.
And then Omicron showed up, which is exactly America’s luck in 2021.
The spiking pandemic gives rise to a question, one that feels a little bit like some bad “Hamlet,” given that vacation issues are a decidedly first-world problem to have in the midst of global affliction.
To go or not to go? To get on that jetliner, which departs tonight, or to cancel our plans and instead spend Christmas watching “Miracle on 34th Street” instead of living it?
Some background: We have both been vaccinated three times, and thus have been maximally protected against the dread virus. We are both in good health. We both understand that New York City will still be there next month, next year, next vacation or the one after that.
And yet making the trip still feels tempting, especially when you run the numbers in your head. Last week in New York City, the infection rate among all 8 million residents was 193 infections for every 100,000 people. That’s a tenth of a percentage point chance of getting sick — and the infection rate for the vaccinated is half as much.
This year in New York, COVID-19
December 30, 2021
Poem is a commentary on current state
BY J.D. HAYWORTH Peoria Times Columnist
’Tis the week before New Year’s, and for better or worse — The words of this column are written in verse.
Campaigns are concocted, plans are made for the air,
As politicians hope to show how much they know and they care.
The voters are struggling, no names have been mentioned
As thanks to inflation, folks can’t pay for attention!
Mom was pacing the floor; dad had joined her there…
Wishing they could print money right out of thin air!
Then on the TV, they heard such a clatter,
They both turned to watch and see what was the matter.
On the screen was a show from the news folks of cable,
Devoid of facts and heavy on fable.
The interview guest neither wanted to hear was a doctor, adept at marketing fear.
He drove home his message, laying it on thick,
Spreading the notion the viewers were sick.
“First COVID, then Delta and Omicron, too! I bet there’s a mutation that’s coming for you!!”
“Now, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson…
Forget “gain of function…” I’ll just redefine it!
“From a bat cave to the lab… No, not a Wuhan market stall…
You paid for it… paid for it… paid for it all!”
As the outrage grew louder, the viewers grew mad,
So convinced were they that this short doctor was bad…
And fiercer and fiercer their outrage grew…
At the leftist networks and the small doctor, too!
And then, in a twinkling, it all went “Poof!”
As Hollywood actors acted out their “proof…”
So skillful were they, their scripts turned folks around…
And Dr. Fauci was able to scale the rebound!
He was dressed all in white, from his toe to his head,
But why did this doctor seem to delight in the dread?
Therapeutics? He denied folks… and with that he was fine…
As if he were saying that “your fate is mine!”
Oh, how he loved it! His demeanor so merry…
As if he determined which poor souls would be buried.
His creepy old mouth was set firm in a smirk…
How could anyone deny that this doc was a jerk?
He spoke lots of words, but did little work…
And yet the left was enamored with each little quirk.
He filled all his pockets as the top-paid bureaucrat,
And no one at the WaPo could smell the obvious rat.
He continues his reign into 2022… and he’ll continue to say, “No cure for you!”
But the people have noticed, as he was doing thus…
And they know they must stop him… it’s him or it’s us!
And so, there you have it… It’s ugly but true…
We must get a second opinion in 2022!
Pocket up to $800 in tax savings.
Every $1 you give to the Mission helps reduce your state taxes—by up to $800!* Make a year-end gift today! Every $1 you givesaves $1 on your taxes!
*$400 tax reduction if filing single or as a head of household, or $800 if filing jointly.
YES, I want to help homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: $800 $400 $100 $50 $25 $______ to help as much as possible.
Thank you!
Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit card
Card type _________ Card number ___________________________________
Give now to save big on your Arizona state taxes!
I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: Pocket up m $800 m $400 m $100 to $800 in m $50 m $25 tax savings. m $________ to help as much as possible. Exp. ________ My phone number ( ______ ) ___________________________
Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! Every $1 you give to the Mission helps reduce your state taxes—by up to $800!* Make a year-end gift today! Email address ___________________________________________________ m Please send me email updates on the lives being changed at Phoenix Rescue Mission. Name Address You will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Phoenix Rescue Mission’s Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO) Code is 20549. City/State/Zip * $400 tax reduction if filing single or as head of household, or $800 Mail: Return this slip with a check or credit card donation if filing jointly. Phoenix Rescue Mission P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005 Phone: (602) 346-3336
Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ
www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ U865669643 KD9C4NU UUU A G1 KT X 2
19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTan Sun News 10 x 6. 6
YES,
Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes!
Thank you!
Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit card
Card type _________ Card number ___________________________________
Give now to save big on your Arizona state taxes!
I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: Pocket up m $800 m $400 m $100 to $800 in m $50 m $25 tax savings. m $________ to help as much as possible. Exp. ________ My phone number ( ______ ) ___________________________
Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! Every $1 you give to the Mission helps reduce your state taxes—by up to $800!* Make a year-end gift today! Email address ___________________________________________________ m Please send me email updates on the lives being changed at Phoenix Rescue Mission. Name Address You will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Phoenix Rescue Mission’s Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO) Code is 20549. City/State/Zip * $400 tax reduction if filing single or as head of household, or $800 Mail: Return this slip with a check or credit card donation if filing jointly. Phoenix Rescue Mission P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005 Phone: (602) 346-3336
Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ
www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ U865669643 KD9C4NU UUU A G1 KT X 2
19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTan Sun News 10 x 6. 6
YES,
Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes!
Thank you!
Mail: Return this slip with a check or credit card donation Phoenix Rescue Mission P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005 Phone: (602) 346-3336
Online: www.phxmission.org/ AZTaxSavings
Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit card
Card type _________ Card number ___________________________________
Give now to save big on your Arizona state taxes!
I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: Pocket up m $800 m $400 m $100 to $800 in m $50 m $25 tax savings. m $________ to help as much as possible. Exp. ________ My phone number ( ______ ) ___________________________
Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes! Every $1 you give to the Mission helps reduce your state taxes—by up to $800!* Make a year-end gift today! Email address ___________________________________________________ m Please send me email updates on the lives being changed at Phoenix Rescue Mission. Name Address You will receive a tax-deductible receipt. Phoenix Rescue Mission’s Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization (QCO) Code is 20549. City/State/Zip * $400 tax reduction if filing single or as head of household, or $800 Mail: Return this slip with a check or credit card donation if filing jointly. Phoenix Rescue Mission P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005 Phone: (602) 346-3336
Online: www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ
www.phoenixrescuemission.org/TaxCreditAZ U865669643 KD9C4NU UUU A G1 KT X 2
19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTan Sun News 10 x 6. 6
Every $1 you give saves $1 on your taxes!
YES,
Pocket up to $800 in tax savings.
19.11 MIS79170 PRM Tax Credit AD - SanTan Sun News 10 x 6. 6
Give now to save big on your Arizona state taxes!
I want to help feed homeless and hungry men, women, and children throughout Maricopa County and qualify for the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit. Enclosed is my gift: m $800 m $400 m $100 Every $1 you give m $50 m $25 saves $1 on your taxes! m $________ to help as much as possible.
PT
J.D. Hayworth worked as a sportscaster at Channel 10, Phoenix, from 1987 until 1994 and represented Arizona in Congress from 1995-2007.
Become a Published Author with Dorrance. We want to read your book!
Our staff is made up of writers, just like you. We are dedicated to making publishing dreams come true. Trusted by authors for nearly 100 years, Dorrance has made countless authors’ dreams come true.
Complete Book Publishing Services
FIVE EASY STEPS TO PUBLICATION:
1.Consultation 2.Book Production 3.Promotion 4.Distribution 5.Merchandising and Fulfillment
Call now to receive your FREE Author’s Guide 855-977-5138
or www.dorranceinfo.com/lovin
Amount $ _________ m My check is enclosed m I’d like to pay by credit card
BIG APPLE FROM PAGE 9 has claimed one life for every 200,000 vaccinated residents. Put another way, I’d have a better chance of getting a hole in one (12,500 to 1) or being killed by lightning (1 in 138,849, according to the National Safety Council).
Then again, to quote Jim Carrey as Lloyd Christmas from “Dumb and Dumber,” “so you’re saying there’s a chance?”
Life is a series of calculated risks. Some of us have decided not to get vaccinated. Other people continue to avoid indoor gatherings and to wear masks while they’re outside walking their dogs.
There are those of us who smoke despite the threat of lung cancer, others who would never think of wearing a motorcycle helmet because they like to feel like a badass. One of my buddies went skydiving last year. I turned down the invitation, saying I avoid optional danger in all forms, including jumping out of perfectly functional airplanes.
But now here I am, contemplating risking my life for a hot dog with sauerkraut from Gray’s Papaya and the opportunity to show a pretty girl with a huge heart the Tyrannosaurus Rex exhibit at the Museum of Natural History.
What would you do: Throw caution to the wind and live your life? Or give Omicron a wide berth and avoid New York literally like the plague?
One thing’s for sure. If I go and end up in intensive care or dead, everyone who read this column and thought “tsk, tsk” sure will have one last chance to say “I told you so.” PT
David Leibowitz has called the
Valley home since 1995. Contact david@leibowitzsolo.com.
MARGULIES’ OPINION – jimmymargulies.com
How to get a letter published
250 N. Litchfield Road, Suite 100, Goodyear, AZ 85338 Email: christina@timespublications.com
The Peoria Times welcomes letters that express readers’ opinion on current topics. Letters must include the writer’s full name, address (including city) and telephone number. The Peoria Times will print the writer’s name and city of residence only. Letters without the requisite identifying information will not be published. Letters are published in the order received, and they are subject to editing. The Peoria Times will not publish consumer complaints, form letters, clippings from other publications or poetry. Letters’ authors, not the Times, are responsible for the “facts” presented in letters.
