22 Years

Ago

the world 

ended.

George W Bush

became 

POTUS

after the longest

and most

disputed

election

until now.

The Supreme Court

settled

that one.

(And back then, 

The Supreme Court

justices

didn’t pal

around

with 

Fascists or 

Insurrectionists.)

The beginning

of the

end. 

My father

died

22 years ago

today.

He was 64.

Could it get 

any

worse

than that?

Katrina.

The end of the 

world

begat

the beginning

of constant

disruptions

and distortions

and terrorism

in the 

USA

and around 

the globe.

Citizens United.

9/11

and 

beheadings.

Daniel Pearl.

Anthrax.

Shoe bombers.

Waterboarding.

Abu Ghraib.

Patriot Act. 

So many

changes to 

the fabric

of 

what was

The United

States

of 

America.

The internet

and social

media

revolutionized

and then

cannibalized

humanity.

The first 

African American

President,

elected for 2 terms,

undermined 

at every possible 

moment, 

denying

a Supreme Court

Justice

hearing,

and Congress

praying and thinking

when 

children and other

innocents

in schools,

churches,

movie theaters,

clubs,

military bases,

etc

got gunned down

by “lone

wolves”.

But he and Congress 

kept us

from falling

off 

the economic

cliff,

with a 

gradual

recovery.

Still

the Affordable

Care

Act

became law

and Gay

Marriage

became

Legal.

Green 

Energy 

meanwhile

became more

mainstream,

despite

FRACKING

and pushback

against

any social 

or climate 

progress.

But Freedom!

Libertarianism!

Crypto

Currency

Hype

and 

failure.

And 

Trump,

who

after

losing 

a second 

term

over 2 years 

ago,

still

haunts

having 

unleashed 

the

walking

dead—

Zombie 

Apocalypse

Now—

After 

supporting

an actual

insurrection

at 

The Capitol

among

other

coup 

attempts, 

the MAGA

army

is like

COVID

still infecting

even

though

we declared

the COVID19

Pandemic 

that shut 

down 

the world

for 2 years 

from

March 2020

to March

2022

over,

as

the virus 

mutates 

and threatens

continuously.

The oldest

are the 

most

vulnerable. 

Even the 

Biden-Harris

(Yes, the first

Black-Asian-American

Woman

VEEP),

team

can not

seem

to inspire

much hope.

Or change.

22 Years

ago, 

the world 

ended

at only

64.