We hope you enjoyed the December 2024 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Many thanks to Orlando Bartro for his contributions to the magazine. Many thanks to Rachel Ann Bovier for graciously answering our December Q&A questions. It’s her second Q&A, and it’s even better than the original!
Please take a moment to thank and recognize FEMA for their continued response to the natural disasters that occurred across the United States in 2024. It’s their job, and they are doing it well, no matter what you’ve heard.
Orlando Bartro gives us a classic twist to making New Year’s resolutions.
This year, in addition to a short story for each issue related to the theme in some way, I’ll be writing a poem each month. This month, my short story is about starting over.
This month I took a deep dive into the events of 2000 through the end of 2024. I noticed important patterns related to natural disasters, political and socioeconomic conflicts, and world leaders who refuse to play by the rules. It’s a long article, but well worth the time to take a look at a few of the events of the past 9,125 days. Where do we go from here? I have a few suggestions in “The Road Ahead.”
For our new column, “Happy Birthday,” celebrating the birthdays of famous writers, I selected Zora Neale Hurston the author of Their Eyes Were Watching God.
I selected twenty-five songs and twenty-five films – from each year 2000-2024. Take a look and check the songs out on YouTube, Spotify, or your favorite music streaming site, Watch the movies o your favorite streaming site. What have you been watching and listening to for the past twenty-five years?
For January 25 in “The Twelve Months of Fruit,” I decided to feature our Christmas fruit salad in honor of a very important family member.
We found some great choices for our January reading recommendations for kids, young adults, and adults from authors who have primarily written in the 21st century.
We’re constantly updating our Author Page to include the latest published works of your new favorite authors, and we’re adding authors. Being able to give authors a free place to display their work is a dream come true for me, so please check every month to see who’s new and what’s new.
Don’t miss our new Artist Page where we will be celebrating creatives and providing their contact information. We will be updating and adding to the list during this month and the following months, so keep checking our new page.
Everything in Between is now available in audiobook. The narrator, Louise Porter, does a wonderful job bringing Sabrina and her story to life, and I can’t wait for you to have a listen. You can purchase the audiobook for Everything in Between on Amazon, iTunes, or Audible. https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Everything-in-Between/dp/B0DDR8GRWS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TV0J0HCWYT7T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tdRKc5MxwdOobXZOLckDvQ.0BXe9QYH3JnZOn9j0LC6Yy6gCG9UI3lIcRu4KlRnIPs&dib_tag=se&keywords=everything+in+between+by+frances+joyce+audiobook&qid=1725234363&sprefix=everything+in+between+by+frances+joyce+audiobook%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-
All year we’ve been encouraging you to make informed choices at the ballot box. The election may be over, but insuring we have responsible qualified cabinet members is our next job. If you’re worried about the capabilities/qualifications of certain nominees to understand the needs of our public-school students, housing, the environment, Healthcare, Social Security, or safety regulations that protect our workers, please make those concerns known to your Senators. You can email or call their office and make your concerns known. If you support FBI background checks for anyone working in the president’s cabinet, please make those concerns known. We The People should have a say in our future. If you don’t want two billionaires, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, with no accountability to the American people evaluating how your tax dollars should be allocated and the benefits you will receive, let the people in Congress know.
If you are worried about the direction of our government, start preparing for the midterms now. Do your research, so we don’t end up with legislators who care more about partisanship than serving the needs of the American people. The League of Women Voters is a reputable and impartial source for information. Check them out before you head to the polls.
Please keep showing up and voting. We will never tell you who to vote for, but we will keep telling you to vote and do your homework!
Which incumbent legislators have actually authored and submitted legislation to benefit Americans? Who’s all talk and soundbites? Who refuses to bring legislation to the floor of the House of Representatives or Senate, so our Representatives/Senators can vote on it? We pay them to conduct the government’s business, not to sit and do nothing. We don’t pay them to do the bidding of political parties or billionaires. Would you hire this person to run your business or trust them to be a fair boss? Would you trust them to make decisions about your safety and well being ?
Samantha Sayers has been missing for six years since she disappeared on August 1, 2018, after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam grew up in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.
If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page, but only after it is verified. Thank you!
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Happy Reading,
Fran