According to the Chinese zodiac, 2008 was the Year of the Rat.
In the East, rats are thought to have a quick wit, natural charm and an unparalleled ability to acquire wealth.
However, the Chinese also feel the rat can be a greedy, hoarding sort unapologetically concerned with its own agenda.
If 2008 is any indicator, there may be some truth in the ancient Eastern astrology. Over the past year, our country, as a whole, began to feel the consequences of corporate, governmental and individual greed. Now we are forced to rethink and, with the New Year now upon us, make resolutions to change our lifestyles and choose leaders we believe can get us out of the nasty mess we're in (and in Mr. Obama's case, choose a leader who also impresses us with his bodysurfing and eloquent speech.)
There are no two ways about it, Pickens County, it's been a tough year. Still, our small (all-be-it growing) community, with the rest of the nation, has trudged through one of the financially muddiest times in a generation and come through more or less in tact.
Still, the truth remains that Pickens has hundreds of residential and commercial buildings sitting empty, and development here has all but ground to a halt. Perhaps the clearest sign that times are tough is our community food pantry, now providing rations to more than 200 families each week.
Other local problems awaiting attention in 2009 include the stranded Woodbridge Inn (its yummy pumpkin bisque imprisoned behind the impassable wooden bridge for months); and the county courthouse renovation now on hold––both projects lagging as the result of the dour economy.
We have been, as a collective of governments, citizens, families and workers, maintaining the status quo, hoping and praying for better times in the upcoming year.
And now it's here - 2009. The Year of the Ox, as the Chinese call it. They say the ox is the sign characterized by strength, stability, leadership and the ability to focus on the project at hand and do it right the first time.
To put it in local terms, the ox is the animal you call to “get ‘er done.”
Sounds like something this country and county could use, doesn't it?
But what is really to come in 2009, the year we look toward to save us all from the clutches of a tired, raggedy old 2008 now preserved in the pages of our history books?
Who knows? Like who knew gas prices would miraculously plummet at the exact moment Americans needed them to, and who knew the stock market would rise and fall as rapidly as the sun, both anomalies making history so often we've nearly become desensitized to history-making events?
President-elect Obama, another history maker who has become a legend before even being sworn into office, has a lot on his plate if he is going to take the path of the stable ox and straighten things out.
The good news is Obama has the ball in his court. The media is on his side. The Democrat-ruled Congress is on his side. Some Republicans are now even on his side. And the embarrassingly unpopular President Bush will be stuck with the blame for anything that goes wrong during Obama’s first year, which means our new president-elect has time to get his ducks in a row.
So, yeah, who can really guess what 2009 holds for us, a nation of people shaken by unfamiliar instability and uncertainty? It seems, more than ever, New Year's predictions are a shot in the dark.
But let's keep hope alive for fledgling 2009 and take the path of the ox ourselves. Let's take advantage of our God-given ingenuity and work to make our lives better instead of waiting for someone else to make things better for us.
Of course, it wouldn't hurt to hope Mr. Obama and his entourage take part in the collards and black-eyed peas tradition on New Year's Day as enjoyed at our house: a glob of collards to bring the bucks and a heaping spoonful of peas to bring the cents, according to tradition.
Integrity and hard work can take us a long way, but we could all use some good fortune (and extra cash) this year, too.
Here's wishing you a happy, healthy and fulfilling New Year from the Progress. |
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