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What a blunderful world

A 90-year-old beautiful little lady that I meet at the grocery store on occasion, trundles in with her shopping cart and never fails to say ‘hello’.

I answer: “And how are you doing ma’am?” Here’s what she always says: “I’m stressed but I’m blessed.”

I stop in my tracks each time she says that and think to myself I must learn from those who are experts at living. She has 90 years of learning behind her and still has the spirit to smile, despite living on social security, her savings, having to drive to the shops and limp with the load in her shopping cart.

What a strange year 2012 was, don’t you agree? A litany of death, rape, murder, terrorist trouble, natural disaster, mental disorder and personal catastrophe.

Oh well in among all that there were the good, sometimes excellent times.

So hello 2013… My President Obama renewed his oath of office and with that is hope that guns will be controlled and politicians will look around and realise they are in their positions to serve the people not their cronies and their egos.

Hillary Clinton was put on the carpet by critics, one of whom is a young wannabe presidential candidate. As Clinton listened, I could envision the smart Alec retort that could have been on the tip of her mind, but the lady is laudable, she got to the crux of the subject and crushed the comment by getting to the point.

Can we hope that 2013 will really coddle us with common sense? Not for long, because another school shooting just happened in Texas, and elsewhere a five-year old girl was questioned and suspended from school for telling her little friend they could shoot each other with a KittyKat bubble gun. Frankly the business of our country is run like a bad corporation where management hates one another and those who are subjected to their authority are wide-eyed with shock, and tongue tied with powerlessness. Oh yes, they’ll hanker for our votes, like a corporate conference with vested interests will promise us raises and perks then forget to deliver as the executives move swiftly on to count their profits and losses.

One beautiful Palestinian reporter/writer/TV commentator on a recent Bill Maher show shook viewers up with her slick Clinton-like getting to the point when she asked why Maher was dwelling on a minor sports scandal, when there was so much happening that is more important. Maher was grand, he bowed to Rula’s candour and his admiration of the lady was evident.

Such is each day, 24 hours of hope shattered by futility, belief destroyed by eminent lawmakers who abuse children, and accusations that the media is to blame for making sensational reporting their main objective.

So this New Year what will we do that is different? I’m trying out a basic brief. One good deed a day. To strangers, friends, pets, strays, family and well, just anyone or anything that you could do a good deed for.

Extraordinary thing, though. It’s hard to find someone or something that needs a good deed done. Honestly, the only glaringly evident good deed that leaps up at you from junk mail, newspapers, and community caucuses is ‘donations’ otherwise known as money. Well, I don’t have much of that to spare so I’m going to tote up the days I did not find someone or something to do a good deed to, and with any luck will get through the year ahead not in the red.

What a wonderful blunderful world we live in.

Pinky Daniels is a freelance writer based in US