This will be the last Across the Fence column I write. According to the Mayan calendar, the world is supposed to end on December 21, 2012. That’s only five days from now as I write this column. If that were true, you wouldn’t be reading this now either, because this paper is published on December 26, five days after the end of the world was supposed to come, and none of us would still be here to read it.
There are many people who actually believe that the world is going to end on that day. I’m not one of them. I’m not that gullible. Most of the people who expect the end to come are fanatics of one kind or another who keep looking and hoping for the end to come. I wouldn’t go out and sell all my possessions and go up on that mountaintop in the French Pyrenees to await the end, if I were you. You’ll still need a job and a place to live on December 22. There are people who believe an alien spaceship has been hiding on Bugarach Peak and is waiting to take people away from the destruction. French authorities have had to block access to Bugarach Peak because of people wanting to reach the spaceship in time to be on the flight when the end comes. I wonder where they’re planning to go?
I suspect there’s going to be a lot of disappointed people come December 22 when they realize the world is still here. There wasn’t a rogue planet called Nibiru hiding behind the sun that was supposed to emerge from its hiding place on December 21 and smash into the earth, or a giant black hole that will suck the earth in and smash it to pieces. Many people believe those two scenarios. Two men in China are predicting a world-ending flood and have been building arks to ride out the flood. One spent his life savings of $160,000 building his ark. At least he’ll have a place to live after the Mayan calendar flips over and keeps going. I wonder if he’s been collecting animals to take along on the ark? I’d hate to see all the animals destroyed too. Although I wouldn’t shed any tears if those blood-sucking mosquitoes and pesky gnats disappeared.
So…those of you reading this made it through the end of time, at least according to the Mayan calendar. Now we can all start fresh with a new beginning as we approach the “real end” of this year and the beginning of 2013. Life is filled with endings and beginnings, just as each day begins with a sunrise and closes with a sunset. We are very aware of that here on Coon Prairie, where we live. We’re able to enjoy gorgeous sunrises and sunsets every day. We don’t take them for granted. I posted a photo of the sunrise on 12-12-12 as viewed from our yard on our Facebook page. Scott Schultz, Executive Director at Wisconsin Farmer’s Union commented, “Howard, I know you’ll also write this great picture in words. Our rural world is an incredible place, isn’t it?”
Yes it is, Scott. Both of us are very tuned into that rural world. He’s also author of the book “Rural Routes & Ruts: Roaming the Road of Rural Life.” There are so many wonderful things going on around us, and so many things to observe in the rural world that many of us still love. We don’t need to worry about and obsess about the end of the world coming. We’re too busy living in the world and making every day count.
After the doomsday seekers got up on Saturday, December 22nd, and realized the world hadn’t ended, I hope they went outside and looked for the sun to rise again on another day. If it’s like the one I took a photo of on 12-12-12, they can watch as the first hint of light appears on the horizon, chasing the dark of night away. The dark, silhouetted landscape will begin to take shape as the sky brightens and fills with fire, changing from pastel pink, yellow, and orange to many shades of bright orange, streaked with flames of yellow. A new day has arrived and it’s time to rise up and become a part of it. How can anyone be pessimistic about life, when they participate in such a glorious new beginning?
Now back to my opening sentence in this column. This will be the last Across the Fence column I write… this year. Next week we’ll begin a new year and new adventures. It’s an exciting time. Each year as I open the door on a new year, I wonder what adventures await me on the other side of that door.
It struck me as I was reading about people wanting to reach that alien spaceship on top of the mountain to escape the end of life on earth, that entering a new year and blasting off into space, are very similar. We hope for a good and safe ride, but we never know where the trip will take us or what we may encounter along the way. Life’s an adventure, every bit as exciting and mysterious as climbing aboard an alien spaceship and riding it into space.
Happy New Year everyone! Have a great trip. See you next year.
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