Another Year Over, And A New One Just Begun

Posted by Warm Southern Breeze on Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Welcome aboard!

Glad to have you in the New Year!

Curious about how the New Year was looking, I messaged some friends in Germany, where it’s 7 to 8 hours ahead of the Central Time Zone. She and their boy were visiting his father over the winter holiday season, where he was stationed on Active Duty with a Special Forces unit.

The “New Year” is often depicted as a babe, a veritable infant, wearing a diaper and banner sash with the year imprinted upon it, while the outgoing year, the “Old Year” (Father Time), is depicted as a decrepit old codger wearing a tattered cloak type garment with a staff.

When I’d earlier messaged my friends, I’d asked if they had any special plans. Not everyone celebrates the incoming New Year, you know. She replied, “Not sure quite what we are doing, there are several parties to choose from.” (Don’t you just marvel at our ability to communicate INSTANTLY to the opposite side of the world!?! Seriously. How great is that!?!)

Several hours later, just about the time when the New Year was dawning in Germany, I sent a message which stated, “How does the New Year look so far? Got any clothes on?🤣”

The reply, “Happy New Year. Hardly. In the hospital. C has a broken ankle.”

Of course, upon hearing such, one would naturally ask, “How’d THAT happen?”

As most might suppose, the typical way one breaks the ankle is by twisting it whilst walking. (Had to throw that little “Englishism” in there, you know. It seemed befitting.)

So the response came, “Not quite sure. He stepped wrong.”

Being the light-hearted gent that I am, I inquired further, “Did you kiss it to make it better?”

Her somber followup was, “He will need surgery.”

Naturally, one is curious about the course of events which led to the injury, and as anyone would tell a story, would include such details. So anticipating that presumptive query, she added “Really not sure how this happened.”

Synopsis: According to my friends in Germany (D and their son, little Ch, went to visit spouse/father C over the holidaze, who is on active duty as a Medic with a Special Forces unit there), the New Year has a broken ankle which will require surgery. Specifically, C’s.

So, Case Number 1: The New Year has an injury – a broken ankle, cause unknown – which will require surgery.

Case Number 2: A stateside Nurse bud of mine said, that he was sick as a dog, and at the stroke of midnight, had to get up, and puked his guts out.

Case Number 3: A friend’s granddaughter’s first born (her great-grandchild), little C, whom is a 1-year-old delight, is in a Children’s ICU in AL, where he was taken some days ago via emergency transport, and is thought to have an e.coli infection. The ET and G tubes have recently been removed, and now, they’re awaiting his kidneys to start back up. He’s been on dialysis (presumably CVVHD) ever since arrival.

And so, there you have it.

The New Year is critically ill, injured, requires surgery, and is furthermore, retching with sickness.

Then, I wrote the following to my expat friends in Japan (I await their reply), where it’s already January 2, 2019:

“Interestingly and ironically, German Chancellor Merkel is under public criticism, has resigned her position as party head, the United States suffers and languishes under POS45 whose party has split asunder over his royal assholeness, and… well, the logical thing one must ask is, “WTF is happening in Japan?”