2005: A Year Best Forgotten

About 30 years or so ago, I remember watching one of those end of year specials on TV. What made it stick out in my mind was the opening of the show. Alan King (A Popular Comedian at the time) opened the show by saying they were not there to grieve the passing year, they were there to make sure it left. That pretty much sums up my attitude about 2005. At the risk of spoiling your good mood, let's take a little review of the year past.

In 2005 we saw the passing of Johnny Carson, Arthur Miller, Sandra Dee, Terri Shaivo, Pope John Paul II, Ann Bancroft, James "Scotty" Doohan, Bob "Gilligan" Denver, Don "Maxwell Smart" Adams, Rosa Parks and Richard Pryor. An Earthquake struck in Indonesia, killing over 2000 people, Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, killing over a thousand people, and devastating not only towns in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana, but it also further shredded the tattered credibility of the Major News Media. Rita came to visit in Texas, but OUR Governor and the Mayors of OUR Cities responded with leadership instead of finger pointing. An Earthquake struck Pakistan, killing over 73,000 people. The City of Dallas not only slipped from the second largest City in Texas to the THIRD largest City, but managed to vault to the top of the list of Most Dangerous Cities in America.

We were "Treated" to weeks of coverage of Cindy Sheehan's Iraq War protests, "Scooter" Libby's indictment for leaking the name of a CIA agent (In spite of the fact that the agent in question was not covered by the law used to indict him), Tom Delay's indictment (Again, in spite of the fact that the law used to indict him had not even been passed when the "Crime" was committed.) Coverage of the "Ten's of Thousands" that died in New Orleans (Which never happened). The Rapes and Murders in the Superdome (Which never happened). Congressmen comparing our Troops to Terrorists, Congressmen saying that the Iraq war was lost and our only recourse was to cut and run. The Tragic death of a woman with brain damage (Terri Shaivo) in Florida. The Trial of a 70's pop star turned "accused" Pedophile (Michael Jackson). The Trial of a 70's TV Star turned "accused" Killer (Robert Blake). However, the Major news Media never quite found the time to report on the schools being opened in Iraq, the water and electricity being restored in Iraq (In Some cases for the first time since the FIRST Iraq war), and the three elections in Iraq were quickly sweep away from Lead Story status.

In an effort to find refuge from the Mass Media's focus on the bad news and, in many cases, it's total lack of, not only objectivity but reality, we turn our tired eyes to Sports. Our Dallas Cowboys still have a shot at the playoffs as the year ends (For the first time in years), Our Dallas Mavericks are, without a doubt, the second or third best team playing Professional Basketball, of course the best team is the San Antonio Spurs (Who used to be our Dallas Chapparels). Once again they are playing professional hockey, although most of us still have not noticed. The Texas Longhorns will play for the National Championship on Jan 3rd! Our local boys struggled through a very long hard football season but they remained number one in our hearts. Some of yall may have noticed I did not mention Professional Baseball, that's because my beloved Rangers were once again one of the worst teams in Baseball and will probably stay that way until they get an owner that understands you cant win without Pitching.

Unemployment nationally was down, and the economy was up. Locally we seem to be doing ok, at least well enough that we could afford to give helping hands to our neighbors in Louisiana when Katrina came to visit. I might also point out that there were NO terrorist attacks within the continental United States again this year. On the bright side most of us survived the year and we stand on the cusp of 2006.

Let's hope it is filled with more blessings and less tribulations.

Disagree or Agree feel free to add your own comments.

Please send any feedback to UnkHiram@BHocutt.com