Charles Dickens said it best in his “Tale of Two Cities”, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…” Very apt words for today!

We had SAINTS and SINNERS. The real saints were all the healthcare workers tirelessly working to help patients with COVID-19.

Some might say the real sinners of 2020 were the thousands who showed up at large political rallies and other gatherings without wearing masks around the country. The selfish few affected the health and wellbeing of many. It didn’t help to have the President and those close to him being “super-spreaders”! Many people thought, “Well if he isn’t wearing a mask, why should we?”

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris won the election!

Trump was… the loser!

Never before in our political history has a sitting President and his acolytes done so much to destroy our democracy by saying the election was “stolen” or “rigged” without an iota of fact to support it. On December 10, more than half of the Republicans in the House of Representatives signed onto Texas’s lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to overturn the results of the 2020 election and install Trump, rather than the legitimately elected Joe Biden, into the White House. It seemed like something from a desperate leader of a third world nation. This went nowhere. Thank goodness our democracy remained strong despite these many attacks. Many now equate “Trumpism” to a classic quasi-fascist cult of personality.

The majority of the country voted for new leadership. According to Pew Research, Biden received nearly 81.3 million votes, or 51.3% of all votes cast – a record, and more than 7 million more votes than Trump.

For many people, 2020 will be looked at as “the worst ever”. Even with a year of seemingly constant turmoil and catastrophic events, I believe many good and much-needed changes are happening.

• NEW VACCINES. Two COVID vaccines are in use with more to come. The roll-out by many states has been very slow with little federal guidance. Over 19.5 million people in the U.S. contracted COVID with over 340,000 deaths. ICU beds are at max in some states. All of this will improve (even with new mutations) as the vaccine ramps up and more people engage in safer behaviors. It will get better!

• Unrest in many areas of the country was a reaction to police brutality. Sadly, there was needless destruction and violence. Although police departments are under pressure to improve their training and hiring practices, there is a long way to go.

• Systemic racism and inherent bias is something we all need to come to grips with! As in the Sam Cook song, ” It’s been a long coming but I know, a change is gonna come, Oh, yes it will. “ Justice, inequality, inclusion, and fairness will be front-burner 2021 issues in business, education, media, and in governance.

• Hopefully, we will see less Qanon and conspiracy theory craziness! There will always be those in their parallel universe or closed-loop snow globes, but many will evolve from these thought bubbles.

• The effects of climate change were terrible with fires and hurricanes causing terrible damage. We will see more needed action with a Biden presidency!

• The COVID wracked economy has been devastating for so many in every community in America. Helping the economy will be job #one in 2021.
• Loneliness and depression. We miss our connections on so many levels.
• Virtual learning was extremely challenging for students, parents, and teachers!
• And then we had the words and expressions which made many of us literally nuts, such as…” Fake news, alternative facts, bigly, the Deep State, MAGA, loser, winning, the swamp…and sad.” Hopefully, we will hear much less of those in 2021.

Warm blankets of optimism and hope came from a new focus on daily rituals of making coffee in the morning, hikes in the nurturing outdoors, and watching sunrises and sunsets. The intimacy of being in lockdown was a beautiful surprise.

Innovation was rampant in all areas of society! The images above show what a few restaurants are doing in Arvada, Colorado to provide safer dining options.

ZOOM became the norm for business and for connecting with relatives.

Americans fell in love with baking and cooking.

Of course, bread and unusual olive oils were some of my 2020 favorite purchases. I should add pastries, cookies, quiches, and fabulous lettuces and tomatoes to my favorite farmer’s market buys!

We STREAMED like never before! Marla and I enjoyed Emma, Enola Holmes, The Queen’s Gambit, Bridgerton, Mystery Road, Endeavor, Vera, Lost in Austen, Mallorca Files, Digging For Britain, Coasts, New Tricks, David Byrne’s American Utopia…and oodles more!!!

My 2020 music rotation included older artists like Crowded House, M83, Arcade Fire, Herbie Hancock, Jane Monheit, Keane, McCoy Tyner, New Order, Sebastian Yatra …and lots more of every genre.

And we loved dance-pop favorites from Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa.

The pursuit of happiness and meaning will be key 2021 focus.

Of course, when it is safer we will spend time with family!

2021 will hopefully let us have the opportunity to escape our old safe enclaves and allow us to travel, explore, and be around people again!

May your 2021 be safe, happy and transformative!

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission. Also Time Magazine, and the New York Times.