2020 A Paradox of Americana
written by: James Howard
2020 a paradox of Americana–It was a strange year. Surreal, somber, chaotic. Something straight out of Hollywood. A year of loss. Loss of loved ones and friends, loss of fun, and almost anything that we knew as normal. We were full of anger, fear, sadness, and hatred. We went to war with the unseen, and each other. With lines drawn, we became a Nation divided, split apart by ideology. You were red or blue. Positive or negative. It was God vs science, brother vs brother, and daughter vs mother. Hypocrisy reigned supreme.
Handshakes and hugs, like Magic, disappeared. Bedrooms became classrooms, living rooms became boardrooms. Businesses shuttered and dreams crumbled. Mothers wept, then cities burned. 76 bells tolled in Holyoke as Nobles looked away. Death became just a number on the nightly news.
17, wearing a cloak of anonymity, muddied the waters with bizarre conspiracies. Freedom justified selfishness.
We were mandated and masked, sanitized and socially distanced, ends were barely met. And, and we ran out of toilet paper?
Every day was a rainy Monday. Winds whipped, fires raged, and it snowed in May.
Concert halls and bandstands fell silent. Party lights dimmed; dance floors gathered dust.
We searched for an escape, something, anything to help make life seem right.
Bombarded by doomsday scenarios daily, it felt like we were living in a house of cards on top of the San Andreas Fault.
Yet, despite all that, we had some fun. There were plenty of laughs. Goals were set, met, and exceeded. Lawns were manicured and projects completed. Social ills were brought to the forefront and heroes emerged. Kids played ball and popped wheelies. Couples tied the knot, and a new generation was born.
We rediscovered nature in all its glory.
Hummingbirds, those little warriors of the summer, dashed about in numbers, and the 4th of July night sky lit up like never before.
Harleys shook the highways and muscle cars cruised the strips. Old glory flew everywhere: in the backs of pickup trucks, from overpasses and telephone poles.
We bore witness to a rare cosmic conjunction that forced us to look to the heavens and we connected with each other in a novel way, a way we never would have if not for current circumstances.
We want to forget, but we will never forget. It’ll linger in our memories forever.
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