18/12/2020 – “This is the First & Final Call..”

Does that ring a (albeit distant) bell?

And so, as we prepare to farewell another Gregorian calendar year

Pope Gregory XIII portrait.jpg
Thanks to his new calendar Greg always knew what day it was….

Except for those few, lucky gamblers -avid practitioners of cognitive bias combined with exceptional hindsight, soothsayers, professional tea-leaf readers & crystal-ball-gazers or Midweek Tattslotto ticket holders (spot the difference), few could have foreseen what unfolded in 2020?

In biblical terms, this year outperformed on the Australian stage. It opened strongly with Fire and continued with Drought and Disease. Flooding appeared in the closing act. Notable absentees from the lineup: Famine (on tour throughout impoverished areas of US) and Pestilence (if you don’t count politicians)

Although in reality, the pollies were all, “Working From Home”.

Trump Flips Out at Reporter in Thanksgiving Tantrum: “Don't Talk To Me That  Way!” | Vanity Fair
“How many times Melania??… This is NO LONGER your bedside table…..!

Whom will be successful in calling 2021?

One thing is for certain: There’ll be fewer days than 2020…

I’ll venture a handful of possible outcomes with a not insignificant probability of occurring in 2021:

  • The “One percent” will not become poorer
  • Australia will continue to live off “the fat of the land” -until China stops buying.
  • Trump will not serve two consecutive terms
  • We’ll all be one year older when it’s over….
  • Many more tasks will be carried out remotely than ever before.

It is well and good that we may rejoice in the passing of this year and express our wishes for a much improved future. However, in acknowledgement of the overwhelming human desire for “the way things were” and subsequent tendency to dial the rose tint up to “11” to filter unpleasantness..

Reality check on the fiscal cliff: Let's go ahead and jump off | News Day
At that point, Wile E. wished he got the Pre-holiday brake check

The idiom “Out of the frying pan and into the fire” comes to mind…

negative waves moriarty always with the negative waves cytat kelly s ... |  Kelly's heroes, Donald sutherland movies, Donald sutherland
Sgt Oddball had it right..

To All and your families,

May your holiday season be enjoyable & rejuvenating, peaceful and free from worry.

May your next year be healthful, prosperous and rewarding.

May your:

  • “Sooth” become “Fore”
  • Horse/dog/team/politician/snail/frog/ place first where the result not “rigged”…
  • Tea leaves settle in a manner pleasing to the eye
  • Crystal ball be filled with grand visions
  • Metaphorical, 3,000 bed, 15-deck, Tatts, (cruise) ship “come in”.

Rgds

RC