2020 Comes To An End

In a few hours, the year 2020 will reach its end in my part of the world, which in this case is the Eastern Standard Time Zone.  This year has already ended in most time zones east of my own.  In previous year end posts, I've referred to the saying "may you live in interesting times".  I would have to say that the year 2020 has been about as interesting as any in recent memory.

I'd say that 2020 will always be remembered as the year of the coronavirus known as Covid-19, which unlike the "interesting times" saying, originated in China.  Whether it arose in a wet market, was transmitted by bats, or even engineered in a lab (which has largely been disproved), no one quite seems to know.  The spread of the virus resulted in governments imposing lockdowns and restrictions on movement and business in numerous countries around the world, including here in the U.S.  Although some countries (or more precisely, pharmaceutical companies in certain countries) have produced vaccines against the virus, restrictions of various sorts are still in place.  These restrictions have already had widespread negative effects on the economies of numerous countries.

The coronavirus and the resulting travel restrictions certain cut into my own travels.  During the entire year, I left my adopted home state of Maryland exactly three times.  The first time, before the restrictions were imposed, was to the New Bern area of North Carolina, which was reported in this blog during January.  The second time was when I walked into Pennsylvania along the Appalachian Trail in November.  The third and last time was to briefly visit some family members in Virginia over Christmas.

The interesting times of 2020 got off to an early start with the impeachment trial and acquittal of President Trump.  Of the three such trials of U.S. presidents, I now have the distinction of having lived through two of them, the other involving President Bill Clinton in 1999.  Nobody in my family was here during the first one, that of President Andrew Johnson in 1868.

There was quite a bit of civil unrest in the U.S. this year, some of it inspired (or had an excuse provided) by the death of a black man named George Floyd, whose neck was kneeled on by a Minneapolis police officer.  Riots and looting broke out in many cities, some of which involved groups which call themselves Black Lives Matter or Antifa (the latter of which I like to call "ProFa").  Statues were toppled, vandalized, or officially removed in many U.S. cities.  One group of protesters created their own allegedly autonomous area in Seattle, Washington, known as CHAZ or CHOP.  Another response to police mistreatment of black Americans and resulting protests and riots was the decision by the Washington football team to abolish their name "Redskins", followed later by the Cleveland baseball team deciding to remove their name "Indians".  In my not-so-humble opinion, the elimination of these two names will improve the lives of zero people, black or otherwise.

One positive development later during this year has been the normalization deals between Israel and the Arab countries UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, largely brokered by the Trump administration.

Despite garnering over 10 million more votes than in 2016, and improving his performance among women and minorities, President Trump at least officially lost his bid for reelection to former Vice President Joe Biden, whose vice presidential running mate was Senator Kamala Harris (D-Cal).  As for what I think of the election, go to a post I made earlier this month entitled "A Reverse Scenario And Two Questions".

The coronavirus had quite an effect on college football, as many players had to sit out games due to possible exposure to the virus, while some decided to opt out completely from playing.  My Virginia Tech Hokies finished their season at 5-6, and declined to appear in a bowl game, even with the normal six-win requirement being waived.

As with any year, 2020 saw its share of famous people passing on.  Among those I've noted were musicians such as Rush drummer Neal Peart, rock and roll pioneer Little Richard, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, guitarist-singer Leslie West of Mountain, country singer Kenny Rogers and R&B singer Bonnie Pointer, and actors such as Sean Connery, Diana Rigg, David Prowse (who wore Darth Vader's costume) and Dawn Wells.

All of the above are the things that I can recall from memory.  There was obviously a lot going on this year, and I could never report or summarize all of it.  I certainly hope that 2021 will be somewhat less interesting than 2020, but that might not be saying much.  Perhaps a slight return toward normal won't be too much to ask.