Not only are we welcoming a new year but also a new decade. 2019 is behind us and 2020 is in front of us. 2020…….Let’s marinate on that for awhile. My first reaction to the start of this new decade is am I going to live through this one. I’m not a young man. Me personally it hasn’t been a bad decade. A few storm clouds gathered near the end of the decade but all things considered its been pretty good.

How will we remember the 2010’s? What defined the last decade? If I could think of one word that defined the decade it would be “normalcy” or if I could think of four words that defined the decade it would be “the end of normalcy”. The definition of normal is conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected. 2010’s has been anything but.

So how will the 2010’s be remembered? Oh let me count the ways. It was the decade that gave us Florida- Georgia Line. They have been eroding the purity of the term “country” and terrorizing the ears of country music fans this whole decade and unfortunately I don’t see a end in sight. On the bright side, the world was introduced to Chris Stapleton, Leon Bridges and The Revivalists and it gave us one of the best album’s of any decade, Jason Isbell’s Southeastern. So all was not lost.

This was also the decade that Pumpkin Spice reached its zenith in popularity. This satanic concoction of crud was introduced us in 2003 by the evil corporation, Starbucks. The beverage started a trend of pumpkin spice products, such as candles and as well as for foods as diverse as donuts, breakfast cereals, cough drops, air fresheners and pasta sauce. This country truly has lost its way. There is always a plus to every minus and in the 2010’s we were introduced to Salted Caramel.

We were introduced to Walter White, Jax Teller, Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder, Don Draper, Daniel Holden the TV shows Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Madmen and Rectify. Unfortunately they left is in the 2010’s and TV will never be the same. Now we are left with The Masked Singer. We were also introduced to You Tube TV. Winner.

The food scene here in Greenville grew expeditiously during the 2010’s and I for one, love it. Husk, ASADA, Automatic Taco and Sidewall Pizza just to name a few of the wonderful restaurants that have opened up and are worth trying. All sorts of cuisines. I have developed a liking to Vietnamese. You should try it.

If you are a beer lover the 2010’s was your decade, especially around this area. Breweries opened up what seemed like every month. Quest, I 85, Yee Haw, Birds Fly South were some and my personal favorite, Swamp Rabbit Brewery were among many that opened up this decade. Try the seasonal Santa’s Atomic Fireball. All of the IPA’s they brew are outstanding.

And finally, Lincoln said once “that a house divided against itself, cannot stand” although I’m pretty sure that’s in the Bible but then he continued, explaining that the country could not be half slave, half free. “I do not expect the house to fall,” he said, “but I do expect it will cease to be divided.” That was the 1860’s. Some 170 years later we saw President Obama get re-elected and Donald Trump defied all odds and got elected. Lincoln’s words again come to mind. We are again a nation at odds with itself. This has been the defining trend of the last decade. It’s sad but true. We have to do better if we are going to survive. I leave you with this.