Copyright © 2006 Henrietta W. Hay
Happy New Year, 2006
January 6, 2006
2005 is over. Thank goodness. It was really a bad year in many parts of the world. We had hurricanes and floods and mudslides and earthquakes and fires and fear of terrorism and alleged corruption in the White House, and George Bush. And he didn't seem to know quite what to do about any of them.
We are suffering a war we should never have been started and now don't know how to get out of, and a Delegate to the United Nations who apparently disapproves of the United Nations, and we have lost most of our friends abroad and are universally hated in most foreign countries.
Federal finances are quite amazing. They change day by day, so exact dollars and cents are impossible to find. The 2005 federal budget has a
$400 billion deficit. The federal debt has reached approximately
$8 .2 trillion and is increasing at about $2.8 billion a day. If you are interested, that comes to about $27,500 debt for every man, woman and child in the U. S.
Other than that, it has been a good year.
Oh, there were lots of good things too. Here at home, with the Democrats in control in the Legislature, we had Mesa County Representative Bernie Buescher rapidly becoming a leader. Colorado approved Proposition C, which de-bruced us for five years. Every little bit helps. One interesting phenomenon was seeing Republicans Bill Owens and Ron Teck and Democrat Buescher working together to pass Proposition C. Cooperation and compromise in politics are almost things of the past, but when they do occur once in a while, we voters get a break. The 2006 Legislative session, however, is scheduled to be a wild one.
The Broncos ended up with a good record, and the Buffaloes didn't.
Colorado University had major problems. Now they have a new football coach who smiles. Honest. I saw his picture in the paper. The ex-coach, however, was pictured with a smirk on his face and $3 million dollars in his hand. Meanwhile, the intellectual function of the University continues.
Maybe one of the funniest local stories was about a Grand Junction woman who was found wrestling a Labrador Retriever-blue heeler mix named Blue. Both were naked. The woman was arrested, but the dog was released. I think she was carrying women's rights a bit too far.
Personally, when I have been able to forget the serious mess we are in nationally, it has been a very good year. I saw son Dave in his Scottish kilts as he went to the GJHS class of '65 reunion. His knees aren't bad. I have consumed gallons of coffee in my favorite coffee shop with my old friends, and made a lot of interesting new friends here in the Commons. Mercury the Wonder Cat is quite happy.
My personal resolution for 2006 is to get more exercise, but on a general note, let's all go into 2006 with hope and courage and optimism and the resolve to make it a very good year. As Molly Ivins says, "And don't forget your laughin'."