I don’t have the records to check but I’m guessing January, 2024, has to be unique in some way. Our days of below zero temperatures and consecutive foggy days has to be some sort of record.

That’s how I feel but every year is different and there probably has been many such Januarys. This is probably just the only one in recent years that I remember.

Whatever it is, it is. I just got the feeling 2024 has to be memorized in some way. As such, my contribution to our collective memory:

An Ode to January 2024 . . .

Ice, snow, fog and cold,

On these facts we’ve been sold.

Januarys change from year to year,

But January 2024 is enough to

shed a tear.

First came the snow, cold and the ice,

You had us tied down. . . as with a vice.

Now we have days after days of fog and gloom,

Have us thinking maybe we live in a tomb.

Remember last July and August, with 110+ degrees,

Today, that seemed as just a breeze.

That bright sun, with its weighty glare,

Today is considered nothing but a dare.

“In Our Grit Our Glory . . .” on Memorial Stadium it does say,

And, in Nebraska we know our Grit is what we pay.

“Nebraska . . . it’s not for everyone” they now say,

Different version . . . same play.

Winter 2024 . . . another version

of tick-tack-toe,

In July of 2024 . . . we’ll have

forgotten the ice, cold, fog and snow.

(Don’t judge me too harshly, I never liked poetry in school.)

A O

To return to my line from last week about a need to change our culture, I’d like to repeat a statement from Msgr. James Shea, president of the University of Mary in North Dakota. In a recent speech he said: “we live in a culture where everything is permitted and nothing is forgiven.”

Give that a little thought. It certainly seems that our culture now accepts most anything . . . the killing of the unborn . . . the idea of a person can be more than one gender . . . the use of drugs . . . a nation without any southern border, etc.

I think we all know that babies can introduce hardships in a family or with an individual. In today’s culture the answer is to kill the baby instead of welcoming it into the world and finding a way to enjoy its contribution to your life.

This whole deal with gender has me confused. Yes, I know there may be times when a person may be confused about how he, or she, is supposed to conduct themselves. Our culture today tells us we don’t have to learn how to live with ourselves (as we are), but we can pretend we are something we are not.

Drugs . . . we all know some drugs do have medicinal benefits, but it is OK to just let everyone use them whenever they want? The damage drugs do to us is well documented, but governments want to say it is OK to go ahead and use them.

Our culture says everything is not OK if it imposes any hardship on us. Would we all not be better if we learned how to solve our problems without giving in to the temptations facing us?

The second part of that statement: “nothing is forgiven,” depends on which side of the political aisle you stand.

For example, if you stand against the idea that killing of the unborn will solve your problems, you are not forgiven.

In general if you stand against many of the generally accepted policies of the liberal segment of society, you are not forgiven for whatever the particular story is.

Another part of this story is the following concept: “When a tsunami of information is streaming at us through all our devices like never before in history, is it any wonder that young people are feeling overwhelmed, isolated, and lonely and disillusioned?”

It’s been noted that this constant steam of information without any truthful valuation given to it is like being given a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, with no picture on the box to show how all the pieces fit together . . . just streams of data and information.

However . . . I didn’t give our dear ole national media the credit due. Rather than just report facts and history . . . they are not bashful in giving values to what they report. And, often that value reflects the liberal point of view that most of the time excludes any hint that religion most often gives values to things much different than the national media.

Remember, 2024 is an election year. If your candidates sometimes says that some items maybe should not be permitted . . . maybe that is not all bad.

A O