For me, 2022 was my best year in many years. Dare I say perhaps the best year of my life.
I say this in great part because I spent the entire year back in the Boston-Cambridge-Somerville area after having moved thrice between 2018 and 2021. Simply put I am where I want to be.
I also say this because I am in my best employment situation in a decade. It is the first time in a long time where I have been in an environment people where rely on me and where my knowledge and judgment is respected and valued. Granted my position is relatively low on the totem pole but someone has to keep the totem pole sturdy.
This year I came to accept my place in the world. Of course, this doesn't mean I like everything which goes on in my surroundings. There are battles that sometimes must be fought but I have learned to choose them wisely. I have also learned to adapt when circumstances are less than ideal and kept any adverse impact to a minimum.
Some of this comes with age. Back in September, I turned 50. I spent my birthday at the home of Fanny guitarist June Millington and her longtime partner Ann Hackler in Western Massachusetts. Turning 50 was an important personal landmark and I wanted to spend that occasion with people and a place I will remember for the rest of my life. That I accomplished.
But for the most part I maintain a firm but polite distance as I have no desire to take up space of other people and be somewhere I am not wanted. While it is natural to desire companionship of some sort it is a two-way street. Alas, one cannot travel far down a dead-end road. As such I am content with my own company and counsel and enjoy the simple pleasure of walking from point A to B. I am at peace with who I am.
Naturally, I am fully aware my present state of affairs could change abruptly and likely for the worse. Nothing is guaranteed - my home, my job, my health or the health of members of my family. It is all the more reason to savor the present but prepare as best as one can for the worst if and when it should come.
I also worry about our state of affairs. I'm sure I always will because where there are people there are problems. While COVID is a more manageable condition it nevertheless claimed the lives of nearly 375,000 Americans this year. Then there are concerns over the future of American democracy and the rising acceptance of anti-Semitism in this country. Sadly, these two things go hand in hand.
While American voters denied Republicans a red wave in part over their insistence about overturning elections, we must remember a majority of Republicans led by defeated former President Trump insist on overturning elections. There are also a growing number of Americans of both right-wing and left-wing persuasion who while condemning anti-Semitism among their adversaries are willing to tolerate anti-Semitism among their own ranks.
While I still have the freedom to raise my concerns in this forum, I do so with the understanding that few will care about what I have say on these subjects or much of anything else. I shall exercise my voice while I still have it but harbor no illusions that anything will come of it. The only solace I can take is that I will speak my peace on the record when I see fit whether or not anyone wants to hear it.
With that said, I must say that I admire President Biden. Whether he chooses to run for a second term or not, I suspect that after his presidency a great many people who might not be so fond of him today will look upon his time in office as part of the good old days.
All things considered, I will look upon 2022 with great fondness and satisfaction. With this outlook in mind, I hold out the hope and possibility that a year from today I will be able to look upon 2023 with even greater fondness and satisfaction.
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