Oh my, what a year, or should I say what year? It seems like 2022 just began last month. Just as quickly as it began it was over. As I sit and try to think about what to write for this past year’s reflection I seem to come up blank. I don’t know if I’m blank because maybe I’m getting older, maybe it’s because I’ve tried to forget everything on purpose, or maybe it’s because the year went so fast that it was all placed into my short-term memory. Whichever reason it is, I’ll try my best to jog my brain cells to remember.
Thousands of books smoulder in a huge bonfire as Germans give the Nazi salute during the wave of book-burnings that spread throughout Germany.
Book banning. Yes, you read that correctly. We are officially repeating history because of a few feathers being ruffled. Beginning in late 2021, the ALA (American Library Association) received 330 reports on several books. The ALA estimates that 82-97% of the books go unreported. Only 1% of the report were from students with majority coming in from parents & library persons. The New York Times wrote a report in January 2022, “parents, activists, school board officials, and lawmakers around the country are challenging books at a pace not seen in decades.” An organization named, PEN America discovered that 1,586 books were being targeted with 1, 145 were new reported within the past nine months. Book censorship was discovered by the ALA where 729 attempts had been made to remove the books from schools, univiersity and library materials win 2021. This resulted in 1,597 book challenges or removals. In the fairs eight months oof 2022, the ALA received 681 reports on books. The reports targeted 1,651 books! Race, gender, sex, and sexual orientation were mostly reported within the books. Many of the books contained teaching of “critical race theory”, “comprehensive sexuality education”, and “anti-police”. Other outreaches went as far to ban “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Dr. Seuss’ books, Harry Potter, “Adventures oof Huckleberry Finn”, and “Of Mice and Men”.
COVID is still a thing but only when it needs to be. Restrictions have been lifted yet some businesses still follow testing and mask guidelines. What has resulted from COVID is a lovely thing called inflation. This inflation has caused common goods to go through the roof with their prices. Another thing that’s common is “shrinkflation”. This is where the size or quantity shrinks but the price stays the same or goes up. One example of this that’s been around for years is a bag of sugar. Used to, sugar came in a 5lb bag, for years though it’s been reduced to a 4lb bag, however, the price never went down. Many companies blame it on privately labeled food items, but this doesn’t make any sense since most private labels are in fact brand names. Another example: Corn Flakes. Yes, even your simple box of flattened, dried corn is 21% smaller now. It doesn’t stop at food! Dove bar soap has gone from a 4oz bar in 2019 to a 3.75oz in 2021, down to a 3.17oz bar in 2022. Price tag, you might be surprised but it’s actually gone up. Cat food? $2.29 for a 5.8oz can of cat food at the beginning of 2022. Now at the end of the year, $2.58 for a can that is 5.1oz. That’s $.29 more per can for .7oz less!!
A used car costs as much as a new car.
Add to this, businesses are not paying their employees more, and that’s stayed the same.
Speaking of cars, my lovely wife was in a car accident. Some person decided to turn right in the left turn lane while my wife was going through the light on a green light. The other person had a red light but didn’t really stop. Around 45mph she hit this person, all bags deployed, and she went across the on-coming media and 2 lanes of traffic at the busiest time of the morning. She ended up at the liquor store parking lot only to be saved from going down a steep bank by a small bush. Her Traverse totaled but faired very well. The other person’s car…..let’s just say it looked a little mushy. We had to do all of the insurance work because the other person apparently just didn’t want to. The first of June was the accident with a replacement car in July, and the entire insurance claim wasn’t finalized until November. It could have been a lot worse so we are thankful that bruises and migraines are the final results.
One thing I haven’t mentioned much is our dear friends we met and have fallen in love with. The first time we met them it was like we had always known them. As odd as it may be, our age differences don’t matter. An age gap of 33 years just means someone has more experience than the other. We have a few things in common but the one thing that stands out the most is our love for Christ. They both grew up as hippies back in the day. “Doc” was a pitcher for the Houston Astros and fought in Vietnam. In a band that traveled the states, they hauled around a full-sized, upright piano in the back of a VW Van. At the age of 40, he decided to go back to college to be a chiropractor. His wife has her own set of stories. Growing up wealthy in Texas, she lived on a plantation. She later went to college to become an English professor at a local college. It wasn’t until after opening their chiropractor practice that they found Jesus. Satan came against them which caused them to question their life. They felt as if all hope was lost, BUT Jesus stepped in. They still live without a TV and have for over 20 years. Electricity as we know it was available to them until 2018. He writes his own songs and can play the guitar like an angel can play the harp. We love our “hippy hillbillies” and visit with them often.
For your listening pleasure I give you, “You’ve Just Begun“
Note Worthy Events
A rundown of some of the events that happened this year.
January
- The United Nations Security Council issues a statement that, “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” Looks good… Sounds good.
- Some are still concerned about COVID. The media is no longer announcing it or blowing up social media like it used to. The bullying tactics have slowed down and have basically gone back to being a normal-thinking human who has choices. People are still being “poked” with “boosters” and we are up to 4 now. Children as young as 6 months old can now receive it. RSV is now becoming a headline as COVID has been brushed off. As of January 2022, they were still counting cases as if once you contract it, you’ll never get rid of it.
- The first transplant of a pig heart to a human was made. The patient, a 57-year-old man with terminal heart disease had been declined all other lifesaving treatments. So, “Porky” was sacrificed for the life of this man. The pig was genetically modified to remove three genes that are responsible for antibody-mediated rejection. Why this man was more special than the 110,000 other Americans waiting for an organ transplant is a head-scratcher. Did you know that 6,000 people die each year because they receive a transplant? What happened to all that bacon? What happened to the man? More on that later…
February
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Beijing National Aquatics Centre
The 2022 Winter Olympics were held in Beijing China. The games were closed off to the public due to COVID unless you were special and received an invite. Those invitations went out to dignitaries, delegations, the press, local residents, school students, winter sports enthusiasts, and marketing partners. What I found humorous was their slogan, “Together for a Shared Future“. Organizers stated it was intended to reflect “the power of the Games to overcome global challenges as a community”, yet no one could be there to be together and share in order to overcome the global challenges.
- The largest breakthrough in fusion energy since 1997 is announced at the Joint European Torus in the UK, with 59 megajoules produced over five seconds (11 megawatts of power), which is more than double the previous record.
- Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president declares war on Ukraine. This action then sets other nasty movements in place. Remember the nuclear statement at the beginning, yea, that was the first thing Putin forgot about. He orders Russia to be on special alert at their highest level using nuclear force. With no peace talks, FIFA and UEFA suspend Russian clubs and national teams. Export controls and asset freezes are placed on Russia.
March
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A children’s hospital in Mariupol after a Russian airstrike
Moving into a new month, Russia band several US leaders from entering its country. Some of these being Biden, Hillary, and others. The World Athletics bans Russia from competing. The UN pulls all of its forces from Russia. Russia continues with its war against Ukraine as they bomb civilian areas relentlessly. Over a million refugees flee Ukraine to surrounding countries. Finally, the ICC opens an investigation into war crimes committed by Russia. Russia then bombs the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and it’s quickly condemned by world leaders. As if the US & UK didn’t have problems already, they ban all Russian oil. World leaders then condemn Russia after they bomb a hospital that included a children’s ward & maternity. Shortly after, Russia airstrikes a theater killing 600+/- civilians that were sheltering inside. Due to the threat of chemical, radiological, nuclear, and biological war, NATO sends 40,000 troops to Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria.
- Remember the man that received a heart transplant, he passed away. The doctors are calling it a success though. The autopsy didn’t show signs of rejection which is why they declared it a success. What they did discover was the muscles of the heart stiffened and would not relax enough to allow blood to be pumped. They also assumed that the heart failed due to the medication that is supposed to keep the heart from being rejected. A finding later after surgery and then confirmed after death that the heart had a virus called pCMV, even though they tested the heart prior to transplant.
April
- The 1950 US Census was released to the public.
- Russia retreats from some areas but only after they’ve been accused of war crimes of killing civilians. Votes of 93-24 suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council by the UN. Again, Russia is condemned after attacking a train station that killed 59 civilians trying to evacuate. The prices of food jump almost 20% due to the Ukraine invasion. A Russian flagship, Moskva is the largest to be destroyed in action since WWII. Ukraine stated they struck the ship with missiles while Russia claims it sunk due to the weather & fire. The Battle of Donbas claims the lives of several thousand. Russia is accused by the EU of blackmail when gas supplies from Gazprom are shut down to Poland & Bulgaria.
May
- Roe v. Wade is overturned, which removed constitutional protections for abortion access. This throws a turd into the fan mess due to the so-called rights for women and their body, their choice (let’s just forget about the baby and it’s lack of choice or the choice the woman had during conception). My opinion, this is the way it should have been since each state was controlled by the Supreme Court during the Roe v. Wade trial. The states should have their own rulings, not controlled by one.
- Planet of the apes is announced as monkeypox is the new COVID in London. By the end of May, monkeypox will spread to nearly a dozen countries while the cases remain at about 100. If you don’t know how monkeypox is spread I would encourage you to investigate it.
- A school shooting takes place at Robb Elementary School in Texas. 19 children are killed along with 2 adults. The shooter was an 118 year old that was also killed in a shootout with police. An investigation will then take place over the facts that the police were too scared to enter the school to protect the ones inside. Their findings in an 80 page report will be announced in July that the massacre was due to, “systemic failures”.
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Soft X-ray image of Sagittarius A* (center) and two light echoes from a recent explosion (circled)
A telescope named, The Event Horizon will send its first image of Sagittarius A*, a ginormous black hole in the middle of the Milky Way.
June
- Depp v. Heard. Finally, we are done with the trial. Amber Heard had already gone through the divorce with Johnny Depp back in 20116. She won $7 million from that case to which she stated she was giving it to the ACLU & CHLA. Apparently, she liked to run her mouth which then caused Depp to sue her for defamation. Depp had already sue several news outlets for their stories on being a “wife beater” and lost. In April 2022 the trial was on and was broadcasts publicly. Three months alter we have a ruling where Heard would pay Depp $15 million and Depp to pay $2 million. What we seen during this trial is that Heard is a horrible actor and a narcissist. Depp on the other hand, well, he’s just weird.
- The current administration lifts COVID restriction for international travel.
- Canada & Denmark end a competing property claim for the Hans Island. Since 1978 they’ve battled what was known as the Whiskey War. How did they end it? I’m glad you asked. They split the island in half. Sharing is caring.
- Our wonderful government is still trying to erase our rights as an American citizen. If they had it their way, we would all be unarmed giving them the right to have their way with us. Quick example, the socialist regime of Germany at the time of the holocaust. Enhanced background checks, red flag laws, etc, sound great on paper but the truth is, criminals do not care about the law. These laws only harm the honest persons and gives more access to the criminal to do more harm. Imagine if you will, you are a honest, law abiding citizen. You’ve never been into any trouble other than maybe a speeding ticket. You decide that since your neighborhood is seeing more theft than usual you’d like to obtain a handgun. So, you go through the routine of these “laws” to get your handgun. Your background check sees a flag though the red flag law. Oops, you forgot about that time you went to your doctor because of your anxiety and work. Your doctor had prescribed a common medication for an anti depression. And just like that, weeks later you’re declined because you’re an “at-risk” person. No gun for you! In the meantime the thief that’s robbing your neighborhood clean just bypasses the system. They go to a friend of a friends uncle and get a “hot” gun because they want what you have.
- A 6.2 earthquake strikes Afghanistan and Pakistan, killing at least 1,163 people.
- As mentioned above, since we are in the middle of a huge inflation crisis, the Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates by 0.75%, which is the highest increase since 1994.
- Russian war with Ukraine…..still going. Leaders of G7 met in Germany to talk about it. They decided to ban imports of Russian gold. Another NATO meeting takes place in regard to the Russian attacks.
We haven’t talked about the US & Mexico border because according to our wonderful leaders in office, there’s nothing to talk about. However, the 27th of June would shed some light when 53 people from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras would be found dead inside and around a tractor-trailer. The trailer would be found in San Antonio, TX where a cloned business truck was used to smuggle illegals into the US.
July
- Brittney Griner, an all-star American athlete that made a choice to take illegal drugs (hash oil for a vape & “medical” marijuana) to another country (Russia). At her trial she admitted to being guilty. The Russian court sentenced her to 9 years in prison and fined her $16,301 (I million rubles. Now all of this sounds correct. She smuggled illegal drugs into a country, was caught, and convicted. However, let’s back up and learn a little about Ms. Griner. She hates America. In a media teleconference she said, “I honestly feel we should not play the national anthem during our season. I think we should take that much of a stand.” She said, “I do not believe that the national anthem should be played at sporting events.” The outcome to this all. On December 8 the US swapped Griner for a very well known arms dealer named Victor Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” or “Sanctions Buster”. He had been charged with conspiring to kill Americans, acquiring and export anti-aircraft missiles, and providing material support to a terrorist organization back in 2011. This swap has brought on a lot of social backlash due to Grinder and her lack of care for her country. Many felt that a different swap should have taken place, Paul Whelan, a US Marine that was arrested ion 2018 and prisoned for 16 years accused of spying. Then the others here in the US in jail and in prison for the Biden administrations law on what Griner was arrested for in Russia.
- Remember the George Floyd incident, “I can’t breath”, let’s destroy our own city and make our insurance go up because of it? Well, Derek Chauvin is found guilty of murder and sentenced to 21 years in a federal prison.
- Biden says it’s okay for you to go to another state to have an abortion if you want to and declares abortions a good thing. He’s also considering a public health emergency due to the lack of access to abortions. He wants the government (tax payers) to fund others to kill babies.
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Infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope, its first deep field showing gravitational lensing of distant galaxies.
Webb’s First Deep Field, an image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723 and is released to the public. SMACS 0723 is 4 billion light years away from Earth.
- The governor of California makes it legal to sue gun manufactures if a criminal uses one to kill someone. In other words, if someone goes out and gets drunk, hops in their car and drives it through a parade and kills people, the victims can sue the car manufacture or alcohol company. Or if someone stabs someone to death with a knife, the victims family could sue the knife manufacture. Note how ridiculous this is?
- A heat wave hits Europe in mid-July with the highest recorded temperature reaching 116.6 °F in Portugal. The normal average high temperature is about 70 °F. Due to this extremely high temp, it will be announced later in September that Europe saw 53,000 deaths due to the wave. One must take into account that with average temperatures ranging between 37 °F – 70 °F, one doesn’t need an air-conditioner.
- Inflation rises to a record 9.1%!
- The Federal Reserve once again raises the interest rates another 0.75% making the total hike 1.5%.
- WHO declares monkeypox a Public Health Emergency due to the cases exceeding 17,000 in 75 countries.
August
- In response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to China, a controversial visit, China conducted its largest-ever military exercise around Taiwan. It was a flex of the China muscles to show that they did not approve of her visit.
- Equifax is brought to light when a report shows that they reported to millions of Americans incorrect credit scores in the spring.
- New York warns the public that hundreds of people might be infected with police after one case is found earlier. They tell people to get vaccinated if they haven’t been.
- The average cost of gas finally went back down below $4 a gallon since March. Our current administration has been pushing for “clean energy” and has made I difficult to continue with fuel in order o force us into alternative fuel vehicles (battery).
- The CDC tells us that COVID is no longer disrupting our lives.
- The USPS tells us that they are price gouging postal stamps in October until January 2023. This apparently needs to be done due to the upcoming holiday shipping.
- Walmart, that popular love/hate retailer, expands its coverage for abortions for its employees. On a side note, they still don’t pay their employees well or give them the hours.
- Anthony Fauci made his announcement that he would retire at the end of the year.
- California passes a law banning all sales of gas fuel cars after the year 2035.
- Moderna wants more money for their jab so they sue Pfizer & BioNTech for patent infringement.
- Pakistan needs help due to flooding. Their death toll exceeds 1,000 and is the world’s deadliest flood since 2017. Millions of dollars are pledged to be given in aid from several nations and the UN.
September
- Biden decides to make a speech on primetime TV to blast Trump and his backers. He claimed he is “determined to take this country backwards”.
- G7 agrees to place a price cap on Russia’s petroleum exports due to their ongoing war on Ukraine.
- Queen Elizabeth II passes away on the 8th at the age of 96. Charles III, her son, will succeed her as King. Eleven days later her funeral is held at Westminster Abbey.
- The Federal Reserve raises the interest rate again for the third time 0.75%. Now it’s up to 2.25%.
- Thomas Lane, an officer in the George Floyd case was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
- Putin states, “this is not a bluff” when he threatens nuclear retaliation against Ukraine when they try to fight back.
- $308 million on craft development. $68.8 million was spent on launch services, and $16.5+ million on data analysis and operations. What does this all equal? A space satellite weighing in at 1,340 lb. being slammed into an asteroid named Didymos head-on. We will call it, DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test). It was launched with a Falcon 9 on Nov 24, 2021, and crashed into Didymos 10 months later on Sept 26, 2022. NASA claimed it was a success at rediverting a space object. $324,500,000 from your pocket that I bet you didn’t know you had.
Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Florida. It was only a category 4 but what made it worse was the horrible tracking by the weather service. 157 total lives were lost, 5 in Cuba, 146 in Florida, 5 in North Carolina, and 1 in Virginia. A 10-15 ft storm surge was the main culprit within Fort Myers Beach and Naples. A state of emergency was put in place on the 24th and mandatory evacuations were placed in effect on the 27th. Afterward, the Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis would be smacked around by the media that he didn’t do enough to get the people to safety prior to the landfall. Odd enough, the media also stated that Hurricane Ian was the most watched and highlighted. Yet, due to the storm’s path being practically the entire West coast of Florida, no one knew where the hurricane would make landfall, and with it being a category 3-4 most did not feel threatened.- Mr. Putin decides he wants to take over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia and place them into the Russian Federation. This of course was a breach of international law.
October
- 131 people died and over 500 people were injured during a human crush at a football game in Indonesia.
- OPEC+ makes a great decision to cut up to 2 million barrels of oil a day which defies the US to do more.
- Social Security increases the costs oof living 8.1% to start in 2023. This is the largest increase since 1981.
The Tennessee Volunteer football team beats Alabama 52-49 in it’s first win over them since 2006.
1 2 3 4 Total No. 3 Alabama 7 13 15 14 49 No. 6 Tennessee 21 7 6 18 52 - Federal Reserve is at it once again raising the interest rate 0.75% making it the highest level since 2008. The new interest rate total, 3.75-4%.
- The only bridge that connects Russia to Ukraine is partially destroyed. Two days later Russia retaliates with a missile strike on Ukraine making it the most widespread attack since the start. Russia then gets upset because Ukraine made a drone strike. Russia decides then to pull out of a UN deal for a shipment of grain. This deal would have brought down the global food prices that are continuing to climb.
- Some rich guy purchases a social media company for $44 billion. Elon Musk is the proud owner of Twitter and begins to clean house removing 1st Amendment rights blocks & bans.
- Again, another crowd crush takes place but this time in South Korea during a Halloween festival. 158 were killed and 197 people were injured.
- A suspension bridge collapses in India killing 141.
November
- Russia recaptures Kherson which is the only regional capital to be taken.
- Trump announces he will be running for president in 2024.
- Happy Birthday! The world population reaches 8 billion people.
- NASA spends more money on an unmanned rocket that sent a capsule into orbit around the moon and returned to Earth. This was just to show we could do it again to the tune of over $93 billion.
December
- A $60 per barrel cap was placed on Russian crude oil that was placed to “prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine.” This was done by the G7.
- The Chinese people have had enough of COVID. They protested against China’s Zero-COVID policies until they eased them.
- The Tennessee Volunteers go to the Orange Bowl and beat the Clemson Tigers, 31-14.
1 2 3 4 Total No. 6 Tennessee 7 7 7 10 31 No. 7 Clemson 0 3 3 8 14
Famous Deaths
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom
October:
November:
December:
Family Records for 2022
(it may look like a lot of deaths but I included ALL deaths for the year)
January
Marriage: Marshall & Brandi Crisp Davis
Deaths: Linda Thompson, Mike Tipton, Alma Whitehead, Gary Tipton, Beecher Whitehead, Earl Poplin, James Baumgardner, William Braden, Wayne McDaniel, Betty Best, Earl Boring, Susan Raulston, Deborah Russell, and Grady Lindsey
February
Deaths: Rebecca Howard, Harold Keller, Charlotte Powell, Lorene Hill, Stacy Chambers, Rosco Forster, Rex Hill, Judith O’Neal, and Marguerite Connatser
March
Birth: Myles
Marriage: Ricky & Melissa McNutt Click
Deaths: Daniel Lowe, Richard Thompson, David Hill, Gary Burchfield, Larry Hearon, Wanda Dial, Constance McNutt, Trula Greene, Pamela Taylor, Mary Pell, Marvin Crisp, Curtis Clark, Lillie Everett, and Stephen Woods
April
Marriage: Matthew & Monica Nuchols Ervin
Deaths: Johnny Huffstetler, Clyde Lindsey, Forrestina Sparks, and William Moran
May
Birth: Landon
Marriages: Tanner & Kalee Best Brooks and David & Rebecca Berl Crowder
Deaths: Virginia Porter, Garry Boyce, Stanley Best, Leonard Greene, Betty Feezell, and Raymond Miller
June
Births: Aria and Gabriel
Marriage: Tyler & Kaydee Sparks Boring
Deaths: Barbara Bowman, Roma Payne, Clayton Sparks, Robert Millsaps, Herold Whitehead, Martha Colvin, and Althea Boruff
July
Birth: Avery
Deaths: Matthew Ervin, Fred Jones, Betty Garibay, William Burchfield, and Dallas Burchfield
August
Births: Willie, Holland, and Hannah
Marriages: Zachary & Abby Costner Willis, Joshua & Leah Frye Brewer, and Johnny & Alice Robinson Sweet
Deaths: Wayne Young, Arthur Boring, James Williams Jr, Verl Hearon, Billy Nichols, Holland Day, and Lucas Boring
September
Marriage: Jacob & Shyla Newport Lane
Deaths: William McNutt, Bonita Lee, Rodney Poplin, Hannah Day, Roma Downey, Bobby Martin, Mary Huffstetler, Henry Butler, Charlene Patty, Judy Potter, Lester Michaud, and Gregory Wilburn
October
Deaths: Marie Leatherwood, Phyllis True, Charles Thompson, Bert Cannon, Ellen Martin, and Thomas Kelso
November
Deaths: Frank Carpenter, Diane Poore, Verna Myers, Bertha Crisp, Wanda Millsaps, Scott Blair, Emma Welshan, Ricky Wilkinson, Christina Williams, and Shirley Williams
December
Deaths: William Cooper, Edith Buchanan, Cynthia Wilinski, Robert Best, and Diane Chambers
