Beech Tree News Network

The year of 2012 has been filled with events. Some events were entertaining, while others significantly changed our world. The events listed below are arbitrarily ordered.

•    Our weather this year included spring tornadoes followed by record summer temperatures.  Then in October, Hurricane Sandy swept through the Caribbean and up the east coast of the United States, leaving hundreds dead and thousands without power or shelter.

•    The 2012 Summer Olympics took place in London from July 27 to August 12. Claire Donahue, the former Western Kentucky University swimmer, became the first WKU Olympic athlete ever to claim a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, when Team USA won the finals of the 4x100 medley relay.

•    The November 6th election resulted in Barack Obama’s reelection as President of the United States, defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney. The Democrats maintained a majority in the Senate, and the Republicans maintained a majority in the House.

•    In November, CFBDSIR 2149-0403 was discovered, the closest rogue planet to earth (100 light-years away). According to Wikipedia, a rogue planet is a planetary-mass object which has either been ejected from its system or was never gravitationally bound and therefore orbits the galaxy directly.

•    Our country has experienced senseless public shootings (murders) in such places as colleges and schools, theaters, bars, shopping malls, and places of work. On December 14th, 28 people – including 20 children (ages 6 and 7) – were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. This was the second-deadliest school shooting in U.S. history, after the 2007 Virginia Tech incident.

•    Each year, many who significantly contributed to our society are lost. This year a few of those who died included:  Neil Armstrong (astronaut), Ernest Borgnine (actor), Ray Bradbury (author), Dick Clark (TV personality), Phyllis Diller (comedian), Andy Griffith (actor), Larry Hagman (actor), Whitney Houston (singer), Etta James (singer), Donna Summer (singer), Mike Wallace (news anchor), and Andy Williams (singer).

The Bible says that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV). Many events in our world are outside of our control. Andy Warhol said, “They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Perhaps in 2013, we’ll make good choices resulting in good changes.