My 2020 Person of the Year

America’s collective mental health is suffering right now. Nine months into this pandemic, we find ourselves nearing 300,000 lives lost, millions without work, endless lines for food, and a more distrustful country. America felt like a country standing on shaky ground at the beginning of 2020. Now with light at the end of the tunnel, the ground feels even less secure.

With this on my mind, I approach my annual person of the year letter. Before I reveal who it is, I want to issue a challenge. Right now, think of a person who made this year remotely bearable. Think of all they did and how they made you feel. Now, before the clock strikes midnight on this year, make a plan to thank them. Send them a postcard. Give them a call. Buy a gift card. Or, if you are a writer in desperate and constant need of attention and affirmation, write them something for the whole world to read. Whatever you do, do not let this year end without letting them know how much they mean to you.

Without a shadow of doubt in my mind, my 2020 would have not been possible without the friendship of Elizabeth Jones.

Elizabeth and I knew of each other at the University of Central Oklahoma. We both belonged to the rather small Greek system, so it was nearly impossible not to know everyone. Being several years older, I was leaving UCO as she was beginning her journey.