From what I’ve seen, read and talked about with others, the consensus is that the first decade of the new millennium, the first decade of actual worldly-awareness on my part, sucked. For the most part, I’ve got to agree. Global terrorism, genocide in Africa, two unwinnable wars, Americans torturing people, two recessions (or economic downturns, or bubble-bursts, or whatever safer word you want to use), and those are just the top 5.
Personally, the new decade hasn’t started out much better. On New Year’s Eve, Bram was sick. On New Year’s Day I came down with the same thing and lost 7 pounds in 36 hours, probably should have gone to the hospital, and spent the next 3 days hobbling about like an old man. During this time Debbie’s brother got whatever it was. And the babysitter, and the babysitter’s husband, and another kid she watches, and that kid’s parents.
So Tuesday I feel up to going to work. I put on my dress shirt and lo, a tear in the left elbow. What the hell? Whatever. I put on another dress shirt and lo, a tear in the left elbow. What the fuck? Whatever. I put on a sweater and go to work. While walking to the bus stop, I get a call to find out that my uncle’s father died the night before. He wasn’t blood kin, but he might as well have been. 92 years old, a great and good man, a patriarch of the 20th century.
So enough of the crap from the last decade.