Celebrating the new year has always been a funny thing to me…stay up till midnight, yell, “Happy New Year!” and go to bed…seems anticlimactic…perhaps it’s me that’s anticlimactic. Last year, at midnight, we yelled “Jumanji!” so that we could get out of this horrible game that we seem to be in…with so much death and loss. That didn’t work…2021 was not my favorite year. There were some real high points, points of reconnection and healing, but some real low ones too. So this year we decided to eat 12 grapes at midnight, in the first minute, and to say a wish for each month of the year. Apparently this is done in Spain or South America or somewhere I can’t remember. My sister had mentioned it to me and I thought she was ringing in the year with grapes and wishes…I think we should have used champagne instead of grapes…we would have been happier. So I prepared. I got all my wishes written down and we each had a bag with 12 grapes…12 of the biggest grapes I’ve ever seen. It’s also important to note that the stuff we read about this said that you have to do this all in the first minute of the new year or you won’t have good luck you’ll have misfortune…that’s a lot of pressure.
We counted down and started shoving grapes in our mouths. I’d glance at my wish and eat a grape…glance and eat…barely glance and eat…what list? and eat. As the minute was coming to an end my wife told me she still had grapes…she had 5 grapes…what had she been doing for 60 seconds? Jesus! So I reached over and grabbed 4 more grapes and shoved them in my mouth. When the minute ended I casually walked back to the bathroom sure I was going to vomit all of my good fortune into the toilet.
So it turns out you cannot eat a grape every 5 seconds, at least not the jumbo ones we had, without feeling very sick. It also turns out that my sister was not telling me something she was going to do, she was just sharing interesting information…crap…no bonding over grapes for us. And after the fact, of course, we read that you actually get 5 minutes to eat the grapes…that would have been leisurely, relaxed and without vomit. So now we know what we won’t be doing next year. If I eat grapes in the future it’ll be in the form of champagne.
We’ve been having some crazy wind here in Boulder…gusts generally are 80-90 miles per hour but in the last few weeks gusts have been at 115 mph. That’s the strength of a category 3 hurricane. So Thursday, the 30th, we had these out of control winds. Wind that pulled our wooden pergola apart and ripped the tree out of our front yard…pretty dramatic. And with this out of control wind came grass fires. Crazy, out of control, scare the shit out of you wildfires. Fires that were started by downed power lines…they think. These fires spread like crazy….you know that saying, “it spread like a wildfire” well that shit is true. The wildfires were out of control and there was nothing the fire fighters could do. There was no help from planes or helicopters dropping fire retardant or water…because nothing could fly. Firefighters couldn’t use the hoses because of the wind and they were racing to get people out of danger because the fires were spreading so fast. The fire jumped roads and spread randomly at incredible speeds. It felt like the wind and the fire were swirling in circles. People had to be evacuated and some of them had only seconds to leave before the fire was on them. We were in a pre-evacuation zone. We could see the smoke from our backyard and watched it nervously all day…and went through all the states of contemplation…we don’t need to go, it’s still far away, maybe we should just get some things together, that looks worse, let’s just put all the stuff in the car so we’re ready, we need to go now!, ok I see it’s blowing away from us now…that’s exhausting. I was nervous going to bed, although we left the car loaded. The next morning I woke up early and thought the fire was right at our house…turns out it was the orange of a beautiful sunrise, not a catastrophic fire…that’ll wake you up fast.
So here we are…we had about a foot of snow on New Years Eve, high winds again the next day, and 7” of snow a couple days later….1000 homes destroyed…three people killed…businesses destroyed…and lifetimes of irreplaceable memories gone for good.
So let’s be real…this is not how I wanted 2021 to end and 2022 to begin…I’m not a big believer in the grapes…but I am a big believer in people…the basic goodness of people. Everyone I know, from everywhere, checked in to see that we were ok. People immediately donated money, clothes, food, places to stay. Our neighbors lost power because of a downed power line. Friday was the coldest temperatures we’ve had….6 degree low and 14 degree high…balmy for sure. They stayed with us one night and we helped each other deal with the pain, fear, and loss. They were invited to stay longer but I understand wanting your own space and to make sure your house is safe when so many were not. Now we didn’t do this because we’re extra special people…we did it because that’s what a community does…takes care of the other members of the community…we’re here for each other…we care for each other and we share the burden our neighbor bears.
Sometimes we lose sight of that…the community we all live in…multiple communities really; family, friends, neighbors, Boulder, Colorado, the United States, North America, earth…you get my point. We tend to think of ourselves as individual planets orbiting by ourselves, caring only for ourselves and those closest to us…sometimes even that’s a struggle for us. Look at masks…initially we wore them, not too much complaining, and now we have lawsuits over mask mandates…no one can tell us what to do right?! My body, my choice…that argument is ironic huh? You have a choice when we say so…whoever “we” is at the moment…otherwise you get no choice. If you’re a woman, you have no right to control your own body…unless you don’t want to wear a mask or get vaccinated, and then no one can tell you what to do…and if you’re a man then no one ever gets to tell you what to do…that’s confusing to say the least.
A community takes care of its members, even if there is a personal cost for us, because it’s what is best for ALL of us. I don’t wear a mask because of a mandate. I wear one because of you. I had Covid and never want to experience that again. I am vaccinated and boosted. I got vaccinated for you and I wear a mask for you too. I wear it so you won’t experience what I did. I’m vaccinated so you won’t get sick. I wear a mask so your children won’t get sick or your elderly parents, or anyone you know with health issues. I wear a mask and was vaccinated for you. It’s time to show some gratitude by getting vaccinated and wearing a fucking mask! The steps to get us out of this ongoing health crisis are so simple…get vaccinated, wash your hands, and wear a mask for fucks sake!
So let’s be real…we are all part of a global community…a community threatened with extinction. How do we care for one another? Recycle everything you can, compost everything you can…make a goal of producing zero waste. Buy less and waste less. Don’t litter. Don’t start fires. Don’t hurt someone just because you can. Be kind…even when it’s hard. Practice the golden rule…treat others and the planet the way you want to be treated. Give generously and anonymously…give for giving sake. Believe the best about people and expect the best. Remind yourself that the glass is half full. Breathe. Smile more. Laugh a lot…even at yourself. Care about more than your own backyard. Fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. Stand up for what is right. Protect children, animals, the earth…anyone you can. Take care of children, animals, the earth, and anyone you can. As Mr Rodgers would have said, be a good neighbor.
We are all interconnected. What happens to one person happens to us all. My actions or inactions affect more than me…they affect everyone. So this year we have to decide what kind of people we want to be…the kind that take care of each other, or the kind who just do what’s best for themselves. That should be a no brainer…so obvious…maybe not. Let’s rethink our positions on issues and take a bigger view…bigger than me or my circle of people…a new, expanded, inclusive perspective.
Now wash your hands…get vaccinated…wear a damn mask…let’s take care of each other and rock 2022!
Happy New Year!
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Kai Raines 