Anno Nuovo

Yes it is a new year. 2015 hopefully will see me become a nonagenarian. Now that I think about it, nonagenarian sounds a little negative. Be that as it may (had to get that cliche in), I'll take it if it is offered to me.

Anno nuovo (the new year) is not all about aging. It is also about the return of good TV and I'm not talking about football playoffs. Tonight at 9PM, "Downton Abbey" returns for its fifth season. The Lord be praised, Sunday TV, thanks to PBS will be entertaining again.

Play ball! Of course Anno Nuovo will also usher in my favorite sport, baseball. I predict that the Cleveland Indians will make it to the Series and take it all ( only an octogenarian on his way to becoming a nonagenarian would dare make such a prediction - some would call it a sign of dementia).

Not to be sneezed at (another cliche - 2015 must be the Year of The Cliche), this year we will be privileged to see the greatest show on earth. The race for the White House starts in earnest and will challenge Downton Abbey for must see TV entertainment.

The down side of 2015 comes tomorrow. Republicans take over control of the Senate as well as the House. The only thing they seem to have on their agenda is to make sure that the last two years of the Obama presidency are a disaster, no matter how miserable it makes the ninety-nine per centers. The light at the end of the tunnel is that Obama will toss politics aside, put on his gloves ( lets hear it for cliches) and make his last two years full of presidential initiatives designed to restore this country to the ninety-nine per centers. Yes he can!

Along with an Anno Nouvo there always is an Anno Vecchio. The past Anno Vecchio, 2014, has lessons for 2015. 2014 saw the most serious flaw in our great democracy raise its ugly head. Racism is alive but not well. Along with the cancer of racism, the militaristic posture of our police forces made its debut. If 2015 can see more progress in making the words "all men are created equal" accepted by all, it will indeed be a  good year. If we can stop the march towards a militaristic and gun toting society it will be a very good year.