2020, 2020, what can I say other than where in the plague of boils is 2021 when you need it?
All that said, I am a Pollyanna.
If there is a bright side, I will shine my cell phone camera on it.
If there is a rainstorm, I will wait for the rainbow.
If there is glass, I will fill it with Pinot Grigio until you see how full it actually was the entire time.
La, la, la, la.
Happy, happy, joy, joy, joy.
Believe it or not, that’s me.
The year 2020 has not made it easy to be an optimist like me.
Sure it started off with a splash… 2019 was over.
We all know how tough last year was for Dayton. Many of us are still recovering from the Memorial Day tornadoes and the impact of the Oregon District mass shooting.
>> Opinion:‘White supremacy has no place in our streets,’
That recovery will continue and no amount of optimism can speed it along.
Things were going relatively smoothly until the arrival of the coronavirus and the deaths, fear and protests that came with it.
After Memorial Day came the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by police in Minneapolis and the unrest and protest that came with it.
There is nothing good about the loss of life and plenty of that has happened in 2020.
There have been nearly 115,000 deaths thus far this year, and that can’t be taken lightly.
George Floyd leaves behind five children, including a 6-year-old daughter who hopes his death will change the world.
“Daddy changed the world,” adorable little Gianna Floyd says while riding on the shoulders of retired NBA player Stephen Jackson in a viral video.
Time will tell if Gianna has it right.
As an optimist, I think she does.
I have to believe that the conversations about injustice and racial inequality Americans seem to be having won’t simply stop when the next big headline hits — and it will.
I have to believe that when a coronavirus vaccine is discovered, we will remember those who sacrificed all to care for us, feed us and deliver our packages.
>> Coronavirus: 41,576 total cases, 2,573 deaths reported in Ohio
In 2021 and beyond, I hope we remember how much we missed the things we could not do during the pandemic and how much we love the people we could not see.
There is no way of knowing what is next for our country, our world.
Here’s hoping there are no frogs.
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