Year End 2016

Another year is ending. A lot of events stayed the same as other years, and some didn’t.  That’s my year end summary. Here are the fascinating, or boring, details of my year.

What do I remember most? We had a presidential election and Donald Trump won the electoral vote. That wasn’t the same as other years. It was a large upheaval. The campaign seemed to go on forever, with many Republicans and two Democrats entering the contest. My candidate was Bernie Sanders. He didn’t win, but he continues to extend influence. The two finalists were Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The race featured much hate and many lies plus some occasional truth. The media pundits whom I heard said that Clinton told the truth more than Trump. We continue to wonder what the President-elect will do after he takes office. I still believe that Bernie Sanders would have served the American people best. It appears that the Democrats are trying to figure out who they are.

What did I like most? (1) My annual multiple day trip took place in June at Mackinac Island. My bus trips are always enjoyable, and this one was notable for taking us to the Grand Hotel. We were told that the island has five hundred horses during the summer to transport island residents and visitors. No cars are permitted there, although a fire engine is. We were treated to a visit to a restored fort on the island, with colonial soldiers reenacting the guard rounds of yesteryear. This fort was important due to its location on Lake Huron where it protected a large area of wilderness from our enemies. We also enjoyed great food at the hotel (of course it wasn’t memorable enough to recall today what the food was.) and some live music. We had plenty of time to walk around the island.

(2) A long weekend in Maryland with Mary and Gareth (daughter and husband) was very good. I don’t see them often.

What did I do that I do every year? (1) I had numerous summer visits to Washington Island, mostly by myself. Daughter Sarah camped with me on the island and at Sturgeon Bay. Granddaughters Andrea and Laura camped with Sarah and me at Washington Island once. This year we didn’t have bats in our cabin in the woods.

(2) I did some day trips on buses, and I went to the usual church gatherings.

(3) I continued do volunteer work at the Meadowridge library, the Madison Senior Center, and St. Dunstan’s Church. It seems that the church continues to be the hub of my social life.

What surprised me most? In October I took part in speed dating for single people over age 65. I didn’t know what it was, but my senior center showed a movie and brought in a psychology professor to give us information about it. It was great fun, and channel 3 television covered the part when the eight women and eight men met one another. Subsequently I dated four men and am continuing to date one. I would say that speed dating has been a success for me as 2016 comes to an end.

2016 has been a good year. We will see what Donald Trump does next year. Yikes.