That's a wrap

2024.

It's the time when mainstream journalism churns out "wrapups" and "roundups" of the year that's ending. "Best of" lists, lists of people who died during the year, that sort of thing. This year both the O and the Weed have run articles bragging on their hardest-hitting investigative stories of the past 12 months. There are a few gems in there, but nowhere near as many as there could be.

Fifty years ago or so, when I was a young reporter on a legit daily newspaper, I was given the task of writing a roundup of the most important stories of the year for the whole county. As the holidays approached, government offices started winding down, and then they shut down for a couple of weeks. At that point, hard news dwindled, and there was downtime to have a kid like me put the thing together. 

I remember loving the assignment. It was a chance to learn about stories in whch I hadn't been involved. And it was a challenge to boil down complicated topics to an essential paragraph or two each. I remember calling up the seasoned veteran editors in the bureau offices to get their takes on what should and shouldn't be included. In the end, I produced a lengthy article, which ran on the front page, with a banner headline across the top. Nice place to have a byline.

But looking back on it now, I must say, the point of the exercise is lost on me. Who was the audience? Someone who had been asleep for the whole year, and just now woke up? Somebody who bought only one newspaper a year, on New Year's Eve?

I don't have much of a year-end roundup in me for 2024. The biggest news was the election, of course. And it was a disaster, both nationally and locally, the damage from which has only just begun to be felt. It was the year in which the politics became so hopeless that I gave up wishing for better. I got off Twitter and cancelled my subscription to the New York Times. 

But.

It was also a year in which the roses in our garden were spectacular. The tomatoes and peppers were divine. We got a new air conditioner. We chased the rats out of the garage. We made a nice place on the deck for Freddy the Freeloader, the stray cat from down the street. But we haven't seen him in a while. There are a lot of coyotes around the neighborhood, feasting on the many rabbits that have also shown up. Maybe the coyotes also got Freddy.

I got a new computer for my desktop. I swam a lot of laps in a pool, and splashed around in the North Umpqua River. I ate great food, too much of it, and ditto on great wine. I walked the beach at the Oregon Coast. I saw Jon Batiste and Branford Marsalis perform. I won a grand total of $16.50 in poker games with my buddies, who are all still alive and kicking. I had several swell days around the yard with a pressure washer. I visited Boston, twice. Christmas was outrageously good.

That will have to do for a wrapup of 2024. Happy New Year, readers.