Another Year Over and a New One Just Begun
Lynn Woolley at the U.S. Capitol on June 21, 2020 (Photo by Julie Sullivan for WBDaily)
That line, from a John Lennon song, always gets me to thinking. What did I do wrong during the outgoing year, and what can I do better in the new one?
And for that matter, what did our elected officials do wrong, and what might they change?
In my own case, it’s about taking a breath, and saying to myself, Lynn, you don’t have to get everything off your plate today. It’s true that being the opposite of a procrastinator can be just as bad!
As for our venerated leaders in Washington, they could use just a bit of my urgency – and fix immigration and healthcare. They could also stop procrastinating about paying off the National Debt. I’d like to see them work more for the country as a whole, and less about bringing back pork to the district. And maybe they ought to worry just a little less about reelection, and just do the right thing.
AUDIO: Random Samplings of a Logical Mind (to come)
2025 brought changes to me and to the country.
I got older – by a year, of course, and made a few decisions about what to do with the rest of my life. The small stuff is easy. I don’t have to stop using bad things like tobacco, because I never have. I haven’t salted my food in 40 years, and I never add sugar to anything. I suppose I could get off of Diet Dr. Pepper, but that addiction is too strong. I run on a treadmill enough to keep my stamina up, and so I’m good there.
Musically, I always want to be a better guitar player, and I’m still the same guitar player I was a year ago. But I try. I do add a few songs to my repertoire each year to try to keep performances fresh. I change my strings twice a year. And I try to appreciate current music, but it’s so awful that I have trouble with that.
Video: John Lennon – Another year over and a new one just begun
The period from the late fifties, starting with Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, and Buddy Holly, up until the early seventies is my favorite period. We lost Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul and Mary) and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys in 2025, and that aged me considerably.
I wrote a song in 2025 about writing country songs. Seems silly, but I put Willie Nelson in the lyrics, and it’s not bad at all. Crowds liked it, and that just encourages me to write more songs. I’ve written about 75 songs as things stand. It pains me to know what when I die, so will those songs, but that’s the way it is for a non-famous, local songwriter. No one will even notice, so no harm, no foul.
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My love life was kind of a mess in 2025. I’ll work on that and try to do better. If there’s one thing I have learned about women, it’s that they’re a gift from God and if you’re a man and you have a good one, cherish her. Make sure she knows that you do.
As for the country…
It’s the same old same old. President Trump came into office again and fixed some of the Joe Biden mess, including the open border and the rampant inflation. But I wish he’d handle the tariffs differently since they seem to be pushing consumer prices higher – and affordability is what may decide the next election.
Video: Trump to reporter: You’re a terrible person…
I wish the President would be slightly kinder. I cringe when he tells a reporter, you’re a terrible person. Reporters do their jobs, and the President could simply answer the questions, but that’s not his style.
He’s always been rough around the edges, but it seems worse this year, and I hope he can see that. His demeanor, especially to Marjorie Taylor Greene, has become off-putting, at least to me.
Video: Trump called MTG a “traitor” and she resigned from Congress amidst threats to her family.
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On the other side of the aisle, I wish Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the two Democratic Party leaders in Congress, would be forced to sit down in front of a TV screen to hear the way they talk. It’s no wonder we can’t accomplish anything.
Video: Day-to-day rhetoric from useless Democratic Party leader Hakeem Jeffries — but never a solution
These numbskulls, along with members like Jamie Raskin, make Congress look like a bunch of junior high thugs. They’re worse than Trump, because at least he gets things done. And, in 2026, can we do away with congressional hearings? Watching members of the two parties preen for the TV cameras with prepared talking points has become tiresome.
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We now have 2026 to do better.
I know what I need to do, and will try. But I’ll skip the resolutions, and just try to be better. Congress and the other two branches are well paid to do better. They rarely do, but it’s a free country (so far) and any of us can call them out.
We know what they ought to do. So do they. Will they do better in the new year? Not likely.
Lynn Woolley is a Texas-based author, broadcaster, and songwriter. Follow his podcast at https://www.PlanetLogic.us. Check out his author’s page at https://www.Amazon.com/author/lynnwoolley.
Order books direct from Lynn at https://PlanetLogicPress.Square.Site. Email Lynn at lwoolley9189@gmail.com.
New year. Same book. Still good.
