Okay, I don’t mean to put a damper on anybody’s holidays or anything like that but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the world is scheduled to end one year from today, according to my Mayan sources and a whole bunch of cable channels. In case you’ve been living in a cave or have been astute enough to ignore this hoopla, the Mayan calendar supposedly ends on that day and with it comes the end of the world as we know it. All sorts of cataclysmic chaos is purportedly set to be unleashed on us on or about December 21, 2012.
Magnetic pole shifts. Tsunamis. Meteor strikes. Volcanos erupting. Fireballs shooting out of giant Gila monsters. Okay, maybe not that last one but this is pretty much a you-fill-in-the-blanks sort of imminent disaster. I’m sure over the course of the next 365 days we will hear of many even more outrageous ways in which the world will surely be destroyed by the end of 2012. The media, including, I’m sad to say, the History Channel have been buidling this hysteria for years now and this year will be the payoff for their efforts. Anything short of apocalypse will be anti-climactic.
I have to admit that there are days when I think they may be onto something, that the world is surely going to hell in a handbasket. Maybe I even mutter, “C’mon, Comet!” under my breath once in a while. But overall, I think it’s all a load of crap and I find myself hoping that that my belief is correct and that come December 22, 2012, I can get out of bed and have something new about which to complain. That would be sweet.
So, live each day over the next year as though it were your last. Treasure those you love. Take in the sunsets and sunrises. Don’t worry about those things you can’t control. Laugh a lot and cry a little. Live well.
It won’t be wasted effort because if the world does end, you’ll have spent your last days well and if it doesn’t, you’ll truly appreciate what you have in this life.
So don’t waste today.
Redtree Times 
Yesterday I just happened to bump into a website that was detailing the Mexican response to all this. I wish I could find it again. The basic theme was “It’s Party Time in Mayan-ville”. A new luxury hotel is being built to house tourists. Package tours abound. Workshops are available. For just the low-low price of whatever, you can see that Gila monster first-hand.
It’s just so wonderfully human. The Apocalypse is coming? Oh, ok. But can we make a buck on it?
More seriously, your advice is good. I’m certainly not going to waste any time worrying about magnetic pole shifts, meteor strikes and fire-breathing gila monsters. Getting my Christmas cards finished today is much higher on my list. 😉
I saw a cartoon that showed two ancient Mayans, one who had just finished carving one of their large stone calendars.
“Why does it end in 2012” asked the other Mayan.
“I ran out of space on the rock.”
“I wish I could find it again.”
This article in the Daily Mail comes close.
That’s it! Thanks!