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No – don’t you dare dump 2020 the trash can of regret.  And for heaven’s sake quit wallowing in all those bemoanings you put in your Christmas letter, in attempt to share your pessimism and misery with others.  It’s the season of hope for God’s sakes – literally.

Yes, we were struck with a plague, compounded with myriad forms of civil & governmental strife.  But just look – just look at how we responded.

– Charitable giving overall went up 19.1 percent in the U.S. – despite a major portion of folks loosing jobs and income.

– Bicycle sales have risen 300 percent.  Manufacturers are more than a month behind orders from a nation that wants to get out and hit the road.  No keeping us down.

– More new volunteer food pantries and food providing services have risen up, and been manned by volunteers, than ever in our history.

– Yes, it has been demonstrated that insanity is inherited, with a record number of parents catching it from their homebound children.  But kids, with their typical resilience are learning online.  Schools have made enormous efforts to continue full education programs.  And never have more computers been donated to students in need (1.2 million in California alone.)

– The majority of us have worn those annoying masks, maintained physical (but not emotional) distance, even cut back our business in scores of ways.  We keep on fighting.

– And we have a vaccine.  The average time for vaccine development is 10 years.  Ebola and Sars vaccines were rushed through in four years – fastest ever until now.

So yes – humankind has responded amazingly well to the onslaughts of 2020.  And, if you will, allow me to raise a glass and bid a toast of gratitude and hearty approval to all of you.  We really have met the year’s challenges with remarkable nobility.  Kudos to us.

The Roman God Janus places one face looking firmly into the past, while his second face peers into the future.  And while only Janus and heaven know what circumstances Fate will hurl upon on us in 2021, please accept my private wish that we the people will face them with the same compassion, energy, intellectual creativity, and mutual courage that we showed in 2020.  I’ll bet ten cents of my own money that we will prove ourselves just as admirable in the coming year as we have in this one.

Wishing you every success in 2021,

Bart Jackson

I am walking around with Christmas carols running around in my head – and it’s all your fault. You, my friends, have put them there.  Food grows short.  So my wife’s church group founds a fund with $500 – doles out several thousand dollars to food providers – and still has $800 left.  This loaves & fishes tale comes courtesy of your generosity.  Telephone calls come in from business folks wanting nothing more than to wish me well and chat about how I am doing.  My agent asks, “What are these Prometheus Social Enterprise Awards winners of yours doing that’s so great?”  I blurt, “because of them, gun violence in Yonkers drops 86 percent, warring factions forge a prosperous peace in Mozambique, and our planet gets reforested with a trillion (yes, trillion) trees planted by homeless people who are gaining income and purpose….and a lot more – would you like me to elaborate?”

Getting the message here?  I certainly am.  Peace on earth and good will towards all is not only being wished for – it is actively being engineered all around us.  It is a precious and vital ingredient in our humanity that we pour all we believe to be good – all we desperately want to occur – into one cradle filled with newborn hope.  But we are a restless species.  We do not – cannot – sit and passively wish for the star to rise.  We roll up our sleeves and hoist it aloft.  And so many of us are making darn sure that light will shine before all people, that by Heaven’s name, we can see the glow pass from one heart to another.

Now there’s another miracle.  It’s contagious.  All that compassionate energy and sweat somehow has gone viral – and races through us.  We see one individual shouldering some burden to help his fellow, and some instinctive seed within urges us to shoulder in and lend our aid.  I may not really understand that seed, but I’ve got a pretty good idea of who planted it.  And for that, I give thanks this Christmas to the Good Lord, who smiles (and doubtless laughs) on us – and my utmost gratitude to all of you whom I see constantly, daily reflecting His light.  So rest ye merry and have a joyous Noel….ooops! There come those carols again.

Blessings to you all,

Bart Jackson