Person of the Year

As years go, 2009 rates as a two on a scale of ten. On the bright side, the weather was mild, gas prices behaved and warnings of a pandemic didn’t pan out. But in March, the stock market wobbled so badly that we thought the sky was falling. Those of us lucky to still have a good job lost a chunk of our savings, and America was thrust deeply into debt.
But even in a hapless year, one person must stand out.
Nobel chose Barack Obama. Time picked Ben Bernacke. AP sports picked Tiger Woods. Many wanted Michael Jackson.
(I think the Wizard of Oz had more depth than those four.)
My pick for person of the year is Susan Boyle, the frumpy woman who belted out the Les Mis tune to 100 million viewers on youTube. She had talent and nerve, but more importantly the woman under promised and over delivered. She was real, at least in that initial appearance, not some illusion shaped by the media. Her star quickly dimmed, but only after warmly enlightening us all to not judge a book by its cover.
For 2010, I’ll be looking again for substance over form and for people who lift us up collectively.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk