People holding hands and dancing in a circle around a large bonfire at night, the flickering flames casting shadows upon the trees of Forest Riggs.

Saying Goodbye to 2017


By Forest Riggs

“New Year, new blessings, new grace and new opportunities. Never allow the failures of the past year to rob you of the blessings in the New Year.â€
—Bamigboye Olurotimi

At last, 2017 is over! What a year it has been.

Between politics and weather events, our world has changed drastically in the past 12 months. Who would have thought or predicted that so many lives would be altered by hurricanes and flooding, or that LGBTQ rights, having come so far, would be chipped away and set back years?

It seems Americans are more divided now than ever, on just about every issue and level. Evil is being rewarded and transgressions are simply swept under the rug or accepted as the status quo. When caught with pants down (sometimes literally), a simple or elaborate “I’m sorry†seems to be the fix. Evangelicals sit quietly or proudly endorse people and ideas that are completely contrary to the religion and faith they claim to represent. The list of disappointments, setbacks, injustices and immoral acts that consumed 2017 goes on and on.

Murders and mass shootings happened throughout the year, like they have for the past several years, and we are no closer to solving the problem than Nancy Reagan was with her “Just Say No†campaign against drug abuse. Politicians and Bible thumpers, as well as good ol’ boys and gals, argue about guns and right to own them. “It’s not the gun, it’s the person.†We hear it all the time. Well guess what, if the “person†could not get a gun, maybe there would be no shooting. Statistics speak for themselves. We have to start some place and that is with new and restrictive legislation in Congress.

So how do we deal with this and all the other wrongdoings and atrocities of 2017—the mistakes we made and events that brought us, and others, pain?

Last year, I gathered about 12 close friends at my house on New Year’s Eve and we shared a wonderful night of festive drink, good food, conversation and togetherness. At one point in the evening, we each stated our goals for 2017 and discussed what we could do to make the New Year a great one. It was a good thing to do.

Recently I ran into an old friend from my past, one I had not seen in several years. After we “caught-up†by running through a litany of happenings since we last visited, our talk turned to the holidays and how we would be celebrating the New Year. We both agreed we need to do something! I told my friend that this year I am doing a huge purging of all the crap in 2017! Being a trained psychologist, she smiled and said, “My friend, that is much harder to do than you think—if even possible.â€

I laughed and said, “I have a plan.â€

This year, on New Year’s Eve I will again have several friends over for the usual festivities, fun and laughter. However, rather than talk of 2018 goals, we are going to burn the crap from 2017! I want my guests to each take a piece of paper, or more if needed, and write down the things that brought so much misery to them and others during 2017.

“Pour out your guts†I will say. “Get it out.†Together we will go to the fire pit and the small bonfire I will have built and there we will toss the crap of 2017 into the fire, joining hands and dancing around the glowing pile. This will be a symbolic cleansing of all the nastiness in each of our lives during the past year. As the ash and embers float up into the night sky, the slate is cleaned! 2018 awaits with new and blank pages.

“Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.â€
—Brad Paisley

Indeed, that is what we have to do as we contemplate the New Year and how it will be. Like a blank canvass and each of us an artist, we fill and cover those open spaces and pages with our dreams, goals, wishes and plans. There is no limit as to what we can create when we make the effort.

Whatever your plans for New Year’s Eve this year, take a few minutes to think about the changes you want to see and the goals and events you want to come about in 2018. New Year’s comes only once a year, so don’t waste it. Someone once said that the oldest tree on earth is maybe a few thousand years old and the oldest man at the time was 120. That’s a huge difference and therefore we must make our time count.

Enjoy the parties, the friends and the gatherings, large or small, as you make memories. Most of all, be safe and love one another.
Happy New Year!

Forest Riggs, a resident of Galveston is no stranger to the adventures of life. A former educator and business owner, he enjoys Island life and all that comes with it. He says he is a “raconteur with a quixotic, gypsy spirit.†He has written for several newspapers and magazines as well as other writing pursuits, including a novel and collection of short stories.

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