A recent TV news story showed a 91-year-old Chinese-American man sent sprawling on a street, knocked down from behind by a white passerby. In Texas a man stabbed three members of an Asian family, admittedly trying to kill them. These attacks on Asians in the U.S., along with racially charged verbal shouts and rants,  have greatly increased over the past year.

I just came across a January 1st 1938 issue of Maclean’s Magazine. 1938: the lucky year that was blessed with my arrival. Can’t tell you much about my political and topical impressions of that year, I was too busy eating Pablum and  charming everyone with my remarkable cuteness and personality.  OK, stop rolling your eyes.

Headline writers try hard to get your attention. Often they cause me to imagine something  completely unintended. Whether that’s because the creators of those little  captions are trying to be clever or because I have a weird mind I don’t know. See what the following examples (selected from various newspapers and websites) seem to suggest for you. Then check my response.

It often happens that old geezers like me, especially those of us from rural backgrounds, spend a lot of time being amazed. About things our kids and grandkids see as totally unamazing.

Leadership was a big concern in 2020. Some people in charge of  the most important aspects of our lives came through for us in spades. Others were more like jokers, but about as funny as an impacted wisdom tooth--the kind of leader you want, not to follow but to run away from--fast. And whether they head up a nation, a province, a town, a school, a hockey team, a business or  a bridge club,  leaders shape our lives. Here are some you should look for and some you should look out for in 2021: the jewels and the fools, the victors and villains, the heroes and  zeroes, the first and the worst, the sensible and the dispensable: