2022 is here and when I look at those four numbers it causes me to freak. We are going to be in the year 2022. It sounds so sci-fi ish especially when I look at the date of my birth. In the Chinese calendar this will be the year of the Tiger. The Tiger is known as the king of all beasts in China. The zodiac sign Tiger is a symbol of strength, exorcising evils, and braveness. We may need all of those characteristics in the upcoming year.

Seeing the year 2022 on paper it got me thinking about The Jetsons cartoon show that I watched when I was a kid. It was a cartoon about a family in the year 2062. Every Saturday we would meet George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane his wife. The catchy theme song that I remember to this day. There was also Rosy the robot maid and Astro his dog who were for some reason left out of the theme song. The internet sleuths who know it all are at it again and have discovered that based on the understood birthday on an episode where he celebrated his 40th birthday that he was born in 2022 which got me to thinking. It’s easy for some people to dismiss “The Jetsons” as just a TV show, and a lowly cartoon at that. But this little show—for better and for worse—has had a profound impact on the way that Americans think and talk about the future.

There were approximately 14 times that “The Jetsons” predicted the future. Video chats, drones, the internet and Roomba’s to name a few. The writers were visionaries and I am amazed at how far we have come as a society technology speaking. All the gadgets we have, our high priced I Phone pacifiers that we carry with us and glue ourselves to. I just bought a Dual Zone Two Compartment Ninja Air Fryer that is one of the greatest inventions ever. My 75 inch Sony TV with 4K resolution. All the toys that we now have at our disposal. I’m a tech geek so I love it. Thank you George Jetson.

So what kind of year will 2022 be? Hopefully all sorts of George Jetson like breakthroughs especially on the medical front with what we are facing as a nation. On the political front maybe a George Jetson, Mr Spacely (Cosmo) understanding. They argued with each other but ultimately they respected each other, worked together and got along. That is probably a lot to ask in this political climate but we can hope. George Jetson was a family man. Maybe we can turn off the TV, conversate with our family, plant a garden. Talk less and listen more. Rebecca will really like that one.

I’m not big on resolutions because I only have kept one in my life. I quit smoking in 1982 when Marlboro’s went up to a dollar a pack. Not gonna happen. I smoked like a steam engine on December 31st 1981 and when the ball dropped, I put them down and have not picked them back up to this day.

Benjamin Franklin is credited with this quote “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man”. Hopefully I can keep my second New Year’s resolution ever and may I make this resolution not a yearly endeavor but a daily endeavor. Happy 2022 everyone.