Through a SoMinn LENS

Can we request a

Each year, I like to do a year in review piece for my January column. For 2021, I changed course and did an article on Betty White, who was supposed to turn 100 on Jan. 17 , but the day after my column published, she passed away on New Year’s Eve. Many of my friends accused me of jinxing her, and I would be lying if I didn’t have that same thought. I feel like straying from my regular year in review may have been bad juju, and I will be damned if I accidentally kill Dick Van Dyke or

Jimmy Carter, so we will take it back to the normal year in review. From global inflation, skyrocketing gas prices,

COVID variants and monkeypox to straight up war, this seemingly lackluster year was pretty eventful and, arguably, kind of awful. The app

Wordle showed some promise in bringing us together, but that trend very quickly died off.

Speaking of dying, it was a huge year for celebrity deaths. I remember 2016 being a remarkable year where we lost a lot of heavy hitters in the music

industry: Prince, Glen Frey and David Bowie to name a few. This year was more a heavy realization of, “I’m getting old.”

Several celebrity mainstays started dropping like flies, beginning with classic Hollywood actor and one of the first black Hollywood stars, Sidney Poitier passed away on January 6th at the age of 94. Just 3 days later, the death of comedian and “Full House” star Bob Saget passed away unexpectedly in a hotel room following a leg of his comedy tour. Ronnie Spector, legendary 60’s girl group founder died on January 12th at the age of 78. January also saw the death of famed comedian and actor Louie Anderson and singer/actor Meat Loaf. As you can see, the year was already off to an abysmal start.

We also said goodbye to actor Howard Hessman from “WKRP in Cincinnati,” actor William Hurt, Pro Wrestler Razor Ramon, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Drummer Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters, actress Estelle Harris, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, country singer Naomi Judd of suicide, actor Ray Liotta, actor James Caan, painter Margaret Keane, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Ivana Trump, actor Paul Sorvino, “Leave it to Beaver” star Tony Dow, singer/actress Olivia Newton down, our beloved “Sandy” from Grease, actress Anne Heche, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, television anchor Bernard Shaw, Queen Elizabeth the II, rapper Coolio, country singer Loretta Lynn, actress Angela Lansbury, actor Leslie Jordan, musician Jerry Lee Lewis, child star Aaron Carter, comedian Gallagher, singers Irene Cara of Flashdance fame, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath and comedian actress Kirstie Alley and more. The Winter Olympics were held in Beijing amidst the ongoing pandemic, being dubbed another “COVID Olympics.” Several athletes

had to sit out due to COVID, but all in all the US won 37 medals. Skier Mikaela Shiffren faced unusual struggles on the slopes, returning to the sport after the tragedy of losing her father. Shaun White finally hung up his snowboarding helmet, ending his Olympic career with a 4th place finish. Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming won Gold. The Winer Games were officially the least watched Olympic games, but were still viewed by more than 2 billion people.

A new war, with worldwide implications, began early in the year when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Russia’s war with Ukraine is ongoing with much global support for Ukraine. It is the David and Goliath story that everyone is watching. Meanwhile, United States WNBA player Britney Griner was taken into custody at a Russian airport for possession of hashish oil the same month that Russia invaded Ukraine and held as a political pawn until President Biden arranged for her release just ahead of the Christmas holiday.

Many of my year in review pieces have included mass shootings, but this year was the anniversary of Sandy Hook, and we had another horrific school shooting involving elementary aged students in Uvalde, Texas. On May 24, an 18-year-old former student of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Texas opened fire on staff and students alike, fatally killing 19 students.

Police response was highly scrutinized as parents barged into the school to save their own children. As with every mass shooting, political tensions rose over the “gun” debate. But this was just the tip of the iceberg for what was to come in politics in 2022. We will get to that later.

“Top Gun Maverick” was the movie of the year. It was released over Memorial Day weekend and stayed in theatres through the fall. The new season of “Stranger Things” and the brand new offering, “Wednesday”, dominated Netflix, whild HBO’s “House of Dragons” continued

the “Game of Thrones” Universe, and “Rings of Power” expanded J.R.R. Tolkien’s world on Amazon Prime.

The James Webb Space Telescope, which made its original launch in December 2021, gave us a glimpse into our galaxy with photos more vast and detailed than any telescope had ever captured before. Not long after sending back the photos, 19 small space rocks hit and damaged the telescope, one of NASA’s most expensive projects ever. So obviously it was just par for the course for 2022. These space photos were still a welcomed break from the Johnny

Depp/ Amber

Heard defamation

trial. Fast forward to June 24, when the U.S. Supreme Court did something that lobbyists, interest groups and the Religious Right have been trying to achieve for nearly 50 years: Overturned Roe V. Wade. Immediately several red states enacted outright bans, but unfortunately for Republicans who expected the traditional midterm “red wave” under a Democratic President may have shot themselves in the foot a bit as several state governments flipped blue, likely as a result of this ruling. The economy has not been great, inflation is the highest it’s been in decades, gas prices are through the roof, the Fed had to increase interest rates - and yet, November saw a purple wave at best.

Elon Musk bought Twitter and made huge layoffs. He reinstated Donald Trump’s suspended account and just a few weeks later had to shut down Kanye West’s account after he had made anti-semitic remarks. The Trump Organization was found guilty on all counts of criminal tax fraud, which came as an early Christmas present for his adversaries but failed to even make the water cooler talk. Just before the end of the year, the Jan. 6 panel referred the former president for criminal prosecution; what results from that remains to be seen.

In a more unifying end-of-year happening, most of the world was glad to see Lionel Messi claim the World Cup with Argentina, capping a career that many believe makes him the greatest soccer player of all time.

For lack of a better term, and maybe it is the tremendous work stress I have been under lately creating a negative lens, this year was sort of a sh**show. Can everyone understand why I went to the Baz Luhrmann “Elvis” movie 24 times in theatres? Let’s hope 2023 treats us all a bit better. 

DO OVER?