THE YEAR 2017: The good, the bad and the most interesting.

                                         

Since 1933, I have experienced the good, the bad and the most interesting. I have decided that this year, I will tell my readers about events that took place in 2017 that perked my interest and I am convinced that they will also perk your interest. I will give you ten brief stories of each of these three subjects.

The Good

2017 was a rough year, but there were also plenty of wonderful things that happened in the world. Here are some of them.

When 34-year-old Roberta Ursrey's two young boys were swept away by a riptide in the waters of a Panama City, Florida, beach in July, she and most of her family members jumped in to rescue them. Then, all six relatives became trapped by the strong current. Others who tried to rescue them also struggled to get back to the shore, leaving nine people fighting for their lives. That's when 80 people formed a human chain from the beach to pass all the distressed, exhausted swimmers back to safety.

When bullets began raining down on the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas in the worst mass shooting in modern US history, Jonathan Smith sprang into action. The 30-year-old copy machine repairman shouted "Active shooter, active shooter, let's go! We have to run." He led people to a handicapped parking area, where they hid behind a row of cars. When he saw that a few girls weren't fully covered, he exposed himself to the gunfire to stand up and warn them and was shot in the neck. Smith's sister-in-law started a GoFundMe page to help with his medical expenses, which surpassed its $7,000 goal in less than a day.

When a hurricane like Harvey devastates a city, it's not just people that are affected. Pets and rescue animals find themselves stranded as shelters become overcrowded or refuse to allow animals in. Southwest Airlines stepped in to rescue more than 60 animals from overcrowded shelters in an effort they called Operation Pets Alive! A Southwest flight transported the furry passengers from Houston to San Diego, where they found new homes through the Helen Woodward Animal Center.

A mother came home from giving birth to her baby and discovered to her horror that a family heirloom ring was missing after her well-meaning sister did the family's laundry, not knowing the ring was in the pocket of a pair of jeans. But community members shared the new mom's story and an employee at the laundromat didn't give up until she found the precious bauble stuck inside a machine at the laundromat.

An 80-year-old suburban mayor was able to pull his Labrador retriever from the icy water after the dog wandered out on the frozen lake and fell through, but soon realized he was in trouble himself. A stranger who was out for a run spotted the scary situation worked to save the mayor and man's best friend. The mayor and his dog are doing just fine, and the anonymous hero has yet to be identified since he waked away after doing his good deed.

It was the season for giving and the city of Troy, Illinois set the bar really high. A veteran named William was stranded in Troy and slept outside one night in December in the freezing temperature. Thanks to a bunch of generous folks, he departed with a $225 bus ticket to New York and $320 for food and drink along the way. As he was leaving, he took off his boots to put on a better pair that one of the folks had just bought and had given him. 

In July, Hawaii passed the Kupuna Caregiver Assistance Act, ensuring that senior citizens in the state and their working family members have access to the elder care they need. The act grants primary caregivers who work at least 30 hours a week with up to $70 a day in assistance from professional home aides.

The Eagles’ Chris Long went on The Ellen Show to talk about how he’s giving all the money he’s making during the 2017 season, which is about $1 million, to scholarships and charities that support educational equity.      

A Maryland police officer went above and beyond the call of duty when he purchased diapers for a woman accused of stealing them. Rookie Officer Bennett Johns of the Laurel Police Department was the kind officer. The woman told him that  she paid for the groceries but didn’t have any money left for the diapers. Laurel Police Chief Richard McLaughlin applauded his police officer, saying that this was the kind of community policing his department aspires to do on a daily basis.

A Massachusetts mother has a chance to survive after receiving a kidney donation from a complete stranger. Nicole Baltzer never thought about being a living donor. Then she read a Facebook post about a single mother with lupus who needed a new kidney. Several months of screening later, doctors announced they had found a perfect match when Nicole Baltzer donated one of her kidneys to the stricken mother.

The Bad

No community anywhere can really hope that bad things won’t happen to them but alas, something always does happen that are detrimental to people in every community.

Hurricane Irma sawed up Florida's Gulf coast in early September, the strongest hurricane the Sunshine State had faced in a decade. Its slow crawl toward Florida caused a run on hardware store and grocery essentials, while evacuation orders threw the state's highways into a standstill. After it pummeled Key West, the storm struck the Naples area, taking down trees and causing flooding across the state. All told, millions lost power and dozens died, including 14 people at a Hollywood, Florida nursing home, where a power outage left residents in sweltering conditions for three days.

Atlanta-based company Equifax, once trusted to handle American’s credit scores, had become a pariah of the financial world since hackers stole the vital information of 145 million Americans in Equifax’s system. The breach announced tin September included Social Security numbers, names, addresses and dates of birth. How did Equifax get into the mess? A security patch for a known system bug was issued but Equifax hadn’t installed it. Lawmakers asked questions, the CEO resigned, and a good chunk of America freaked out.

The dash cam footage was chilling. Sixteen shots fired at Laquan McDonald as the 17-year-old walked away from police officers. Prosecutors said that three Chicago police officers were trying to "conceal the true facts in McDonald's death. A Cook County grand jury indicted the officers in June with state charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and misconduct. These defendants did more than merely obey an unofficial code of silence. according to  special prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes.  said of the alleged coverup. Officer Jason Van Dyke previously pleaded not guilty and was awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.       We need to remember that not all police officers are bad. The decent police officers keep our communities safe. Our cities would be much worse off without a police department to protect law-abiding citizens from murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and other dangerous criminals. It's the bad cops that deserve to be hated, not all cops in general.

On April 9, Kentucky doctor David Dao was shown on video being forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville. Dao was among four passengers scheduled to be removed to accommodate crew members. The footage of Dao screaming as he was pulled from the plane went viral. Days later, Dao's lawyer said he suffered a concussion and broken nose. The incident prompted United to make changes to its passenger policies. Two security officers involved in the incident were fired.   

You can't think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it." Michelle Carter, 20, sent dozens of texts like this encouraging her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, 18, to commit suicide, which Roy eventually did after Carter instructed him to get back in a truck filling with carbon monoxide. Carter was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, of which she'll serve 15 months. The case was the first to determine the legality of telling someone to commit suicide.

On Oct0ber 1^st, The fears of Americans increased forever when a gunman broke a window in the Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas and opened fire on 22,000 country music fans at the outdoor Route 91 Harvest Festival. Fifty-eight died  in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Nearly 500 were injured. The gunman's motive remains a mystery. A wounded country’s fear continued in November when a gunman killed 25 people, including a pregnant woman whose unborn baby also died, during a church service in Sutherland Springs, Texas.  With that, 2017 earned a bitter honor of being the most deadly year for mass killings in the United States in more than a decade.

Just before the Fourth of July, Governor Chris Christie was spotted lounging on a beach outside his residence on Island Beach State Park. The only problem as far as beachgoers were concerned was that he had closed that beach to the public so that he could have it all to himself without being pestered and to make his actions not reflect on his being on that particular beach, he  closed all the other state parks in New Jersey thanks to the governor’s state government shutdown. The photo became the source of endless complaints by the citizens of that state, and New Jersey residents told the governor to “get the hell off the beach!” A few weeks before beachgate, a poll found Christie's approval ratings had sunk to 15%, making him the least popular governor in any state in the past 20 years. After legislators struck a deal with the governor, it ended the three-day shutdown in time for the holiday.

The plague, once called the Black Death, wiped out nearly half of the European population in the Middle Ages. And while it sounds like a disease that should have no place in modern times, each spring and summer cases of the plague pop up, often in Western areas. In late June, New Mexico confirmed a total of three cases of the plague in Santa Fe County. According to the New Mexico Department of Health, all three were hospitalized and later released. So, how does one get the plague? It’s typically transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas, and while terrifying sounding, it can be treated if the symptoms are recognized early.

It was New York City's worst terrorist attack since 9/11, and occurred just a few blocks away from where the iconic twin towers crumbled. In November, Sayfullo Saipov, an immigrant from Uzbekistan with ties to the Islamic State, ran down cyclists and pedestrians on a busy bike path before crashing into a school bus, killing 8 people and injuring 12. Saipov's killings occurred mere hours before the city's annual Halloween parade was to kick off, but revelers were undeterred. Amid heavier police presence, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio joined a million people who marched and danced down 6th Avenue in defiance of terror.

The death of Ohio native Otto Warmbier was a heartbreaking moment in a year of marked tensions with North Korea. Warmbier, a college student at the University of Virginia, was arrested in North Korea on charges of trying to steal a poster. The 22-year-old was returned home in June in a coma; he died shortly thereafter. Pyongyang denied it tortured or mistreated him, claiming Warmbier contracted botulism and was given a sleeping pill. Throughout 2017, President Trump and Kim Jong Un, whom Trump dubbed "Little Rocket Man," exchanged even more heated threats over North Korea's rapid development of nuclear weapons that could strike the U.S. mainland.        

Most Interesting

Sarah Cummins was meant to have her wedding at the Ritz Charles banquet hall, but after the wedding was called off,  she decided to put the already paid for reception to good use and invited local homeless people as her guests from four area homeless shelters. Her generosity inspired a local man to donate suits for guests and his tailor donated a few more and another local business contributed dresses and accessories. The July dinner, which included chicken, salmon, wedding cake and even a late-night snack of pizza, turned a painful situation positive, Now that really was an unusual event.

Clayton Cornelison proceeded to shake his penis by moving his hips in a circular motion and proceeded to dance in the middle of the intersection with his pants around his ankles in the direction of oncoming traffic.   Needless to say, he was arrested. Years ago when I was walking down a Toronto street with a lawyer I worked for, he suddenly pulled his penis out in front of three women approaching us. He later said to me, Ì just wanted to prove to you that I am not afraid to do anything. He was damned lucky he wasn`t arrested.

The eyes of the United States were fixed on the State of Alabama on December 2017 to see who the state would choose to take over its open Senate seat in an election that was seen not only as a big disappointment to President Trump who stupidly supported the embattled Republican candidate Roy Moore, but also on the country's tolerance of predatory sexual behavior. Trump was elected in spite of the voting public being aware of more than a dozen allegations of sexual assault and harassment against him. Unfortunately for Moore, he was also accused in the previous month  of sexually assaulting and harassing multiple teenage girls when he was in his 30s This sexual predator was defeated by Democrat Doug Jones.  t's the first time in 25 years Alabama has elected a Democrat to the Senate. The special election came during what America has come to refer to as its "post-Weinstein moment," which was a reckoning on powerful men who have abused women with impunity, and who, until recently, faced consequences which they didn`t face earlier.  It was their penises that did them in and ended their careers.

After years of fierce debate, Arkansas built a monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol building. Less than 24 hours later, the monument was razed. Michael Tate Reed, 32, plowed his car through the statue while filming the incident on his cellphone and posting the video on Facebook. The 6-foot, 6,000-pound memorial drew the ire of opponents like the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the Temple of Satan, who said that the monument was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. Supporters saw it as a way to celebrate the role the Ten Commandments played in this country’s law. State Senator, Jason Rapert, who led the push to initially erect the monument, vowed to raise funds to build its replacement.

Calgary Airport Security stopped a 23-year-old man from boarding his West Jet to flight to Cancun. The gentleman's unusual physique drew the suspicions of the Airport Officials. His body was much fatter than his head. They then proceeded to search him. They discovered concealed money all over his body from head to toe. Initially, the suspect, Philip Jacobs, was charged with money laundering and smuggling but it soon turned out that he was completely innocent of those crimes. At first the young man did not want to reveal where and how he got this amount of cash from. The officers pressed him on it and even threatened him with jail time if he didn`t answer the question. The young man explained that he had never travelled on an airplane before and was not aware of any rules related to the amount of cash passengers can carry on them. The source of the cash was entirely legal and when you get to know how he obtained the money you will agree. Despite his missed flight and a small fine over not registering the cash for export, Philip became super happy. He got all his money back and caught the next flight to Cancun. Oh! You want to know how much money was concealed all over his body. Brace yourself. It was $1,200,000. He got it by winning the Grand Mondial Jackpot. He was also a very stupid man carrying that much cash on him. He should have forwarded it to a bank in Cancun.

Prince Harry’s father Charles isn’t happy with his son’s new romance with the American actress, best known for her role on the hit show Suits. A so-called “palace insider told ta reporter of a British magazine that Charles doesn’t think she’s right for the royal family” because she’s too Hollywood, isn’t an aristocrat, is divorced, and she’s done some really sexy photo shoots and raunchy scenes.” She’s just not princess material according to  the tabloid’s dubious source, who further claimed that Prince Harry’s relationship is a “disaster waiting to happen.” The couple is said to have broken their alleged baby news to the Queen. If the story about Meghan’s pregnancy is true and Meghan really is pregnant a few months before the wedding, it would likely create a scandal; the likes of which the British tabloids haven’t seen in decades. Nevertheless, the couple is supposedly thrilled about the news. If she is pregnant, we will soon know unless the baby is aborted.

On the Pacific coast of Panama, scientists discovered a new type of pistol shrimp that uses its large pink claw to create a noise so loud it can stun—or even kill—small fish. In fact, the boom created by the animal’s snapping claw can reach 210 decibels. For comparison, a loud concert is about 110 to 140 decibels.

Astronomers found not just one but seven planets outside our solar system that circle a tiny star called TRAPPIST-1, which is about 40 light-years away. Three are in what NASA calls the habitable zone, which could be right for water to exist and possibly for extraterrestrial life.

How far will you trust someone?  One night back in early March, 2017, a Lizella man in his 60s was staying in a room at the Bridgeview Inn and Suites off Eisenhower Parkway in west Macon. He asked a female friend there to do him a favor. It seems he had $40,000 cash in his room and he needed someone to guard it while he went out gambling. The man said the woman, 32, agreed. He later explained to police that “he trusted her a lot.” So he left the woman to watch over the money and went out. The next morning, another woman at the motel called the guy and informed him the woman he had left the hotel and was no longer there. And neither was the man’s cash.

A New Jersey man named Jimmie Smith was watching TV one day in May 2017 when he saw a news report about a $24.1 million dollar New York Lottery prize that hadn't been claimed and it was about to expire. (New York State lottery tickets expire one year after their drawing) He went to his closet and checked the pocket of an old shirt, where he had stuck a stack of tickets—and sure enough, the winning ticket was in is shirt pocket. 

I wonder what is going to happen in 2018 that will frighten us, amaze us and find most interesting.  In any case, I wish all my readers and their families a very happy and successful New Year.