Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Time's A Tickin' For 2008


My daily morning routine includes a steaming cup of English Breakfast Tea with my Mother and the News Journal. Her comment, "There must really be nothing going on if the News Journal put Longwood Gardens wedding proposals on the front cover," justifies my enjoyment of news broadcasts and publications this time of year: it's complete recap (kind of like Sportscenter on steroids) with side servings of warm fuzzies. All the Best of 2008s remind of us of the bad (economy, gas prices, what else is news?), the good (gas prices right now and hello, Michael Phelps?) and the ugly (Hurrican Ike, bernard madoff).
My most recent countdown included Time Magazine's Person of the Year issue with who else on the cover, but Barack Obama. Included in the issue were Pictures of the Year. The photos document every breathtaking world story of the year, from the massive earthquake in China, Phelps taking a plunge in the Olympics, to the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and scenes of soldiers heading to Iraq. From there we go back to the Person of the Year, where president-elect Barack Obama has got himself a new photo album. Time Magazine stresses that being named Person of the Year is not an honor. In fact, their definition of the designation goes like this: “The person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or for ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse.” While the photos of his college years are interesting, Obama's Nation of Hope Collage definitely show that we as a country are anxious for more groundbreaking history to come, no matter how it comes or who it comes from.

While some of 2008's events may not leave you feeling with the urge to raise the champagne glass, there's always a reason to celebrate the future and the endless possibilities of what is to come. And if we didn't, what would we recap in December 2009?

P.S. Don't forget the Runner-Ups. It is my personal belief Tina Few should have made the cover, but that's just me.

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