The Year that was...2022

Get the Point!

The Year of 50

"I was born by the river, in a little tent..." Actually, with a nod to the late Sam Cooke, I was born at the then recently integrated Tallahassee Memorial Hospital on May 20, 1972—50 whole years ago!

The Ancient Romans were fond of saying, "Tempus Fugit," or time flies, and oh, how it surely has flown for Ol' Hobbs. From an intellectual standpoint, I don't feel any different than when I turned 16 in 1988, or 21 in 1993, but like most my age, where I do feel VERY different is when I catch a leg cramp just from standing up or, a back ache just from standing up, especially when the standing up occurs during the inevitable daily 3:00 a.m. bathroom trip that guys my age experience as our prostates naturally grow larger—while the toilet bowls seemingly grow smaller—especially when we are essentially sleepwalking in the “wee, small hours of the morning 😆.”

But seriously, in a year in which Walt Disney World in Orlando turned 50, Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken turned 50, and the Nixonian era Watergate Hotel break-in turned 50, what I took pride in “Hobbserving” the most was simply seeing that many of my friends and classmates reached this same golden milestone because, quite sadly, so many of our dearest friends did not! 

Such is why I no longer chafe when noticing that my mustache and beard have more salt than pepper because when you have carried as many caskets as I have, given as many "as a Christian/Brother/Friend" eulogies as I have, or written as many Facebook obsequies as I have, you, too, would recognize that each day, each moment, each breath is a gift that deserves gratitude!

In a moment of transparency, I used to fear approaching my fifth decade because my grandfather, Robert Hobbs, died at the age of 50 and my father, Charles Hobbs, died at the age of 59. Perhaps I will exceed both and live a long life, but what's become crystal clear for me this year, the third full year of the Covid Pandemic, is that it's not necessarily the length of years that matters, but the quality within those years that counts the most.

In further transparency, as I look back on my life, the vicissitudes of success and failure, both professionally and personally, help me to understand that each interaction is a "blessing" or a "lesson;" moving forward, whether I have another 50 hours or another 50 years, I will allow that simple axiom to guide me towards extending love and grace to everyone around me while, at the same time, limiting access to anyone—or anything—that drains the very life out of my soul. 

2022 Top Five Headlines

1. Russia vs. Ukraine: The historian in me was highly skeptical that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine in 2022, but my doubts proved to be wrong as Russian armed forces smashed through the cold Ukraine countryside this past February.

To their credit, an undermanned Ukrainian military—heavily armed by President Joe Biden and our European allies—has more than held its own against superior Russian numbers and, to date, is standing in the gap of preventing a wider conflict with our Eastern Europe allies. In fact, had Russia easily vanquished Ukraine, it is entirely possible that their next step would have been to annex its former Baltic satellites of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania—or even Poland—moves that very well could have ignited World War III. 

2. Abortion: When 2022 began, women across America had a federal common law right to have an abortion. As 2022 ends, no such right exists following the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade.

The Dobbs ruling was a monumental win for the so-called evangelical voters who have spent the past 50 years joining the Republican Party and lobbying Republican leaders to draft legislation and appoint judges who would end abortion on demand. As the law currently stands, each state can now decide the status of abortion rights, with most of the so-called red states swiftly moving to forbid the practice under most circumstances—while so-called blue states still allow abortions the same as before Dobbs. 

3. Covid—a return to normalcy? According to the NY Times, in 2022, Covid deaths fell from a high of 3,000 per day in January, to a low of 400 per day by year's end. While that is outstanding news, Covid remains a phantom and very deadly menace, in part, due to the declining vaccination/booster numbers—and the decline in mask wearing among the general public. 

As for Ol' Hobbs, whenever I am indoors out in public, I still don a mask because, 1. I have yet to contract Covid and surely don't want to now and, 2. The way the introverted part of my ambivert nature is set up, it helps me to avoid having to make small talk and whatnot in public settings 😆. 

4. A “Misty kind of Blue” mid-terms: Conventional wisdom usually holds that the party which occupies the White House usually experiences big losses during the mid-term election season, but in 2022, Democrats mostly held serve in federal races across America.

My Morehouse Brother, Sen. Raphael Warnock, appearing on my podcast back in August of 2020.

While Republicans did gain a slight majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, Sen. Raphael Warnock's run-off victory over Republican Herschel Walker ensures that the Senate tilts center-left—at least for the next two years!

Coming into this year, the pundit class suggested that a "Red Wave" would spread across America and lead to a Republican takeover of the U.S. House and Senate, but to my mild surprise, 2022 saw a loosening of former President Donald Trump's vise grip on the hearts and minds of Republican donors and some GOP voters across America. From the January 6th Committee hearings that laid out in plain view all of Mr. Trump's dastardly deeds that led to the MAGA Riots on that infamous day, to the FBI raids in Mar-A-Lago that proved that Trump took classified security documents that his presidential predecessors had turned over with no qualms; to Trump’s dinner with a known white supremacy degenerate and humorous sale of digital trading cards, those events, coupled with his support of candidates that were horrifically unqualified for office (like Walker) have damaged the Trump brand among many conservatives—especially the big money donors who flocked to his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, but are now withholding their support for his 2024 run. 

5. Coach Deion Sanders leaves Jackson State: After two calendar years and three seasons at Jackson State University, Deion "Primetime" Sanders has decided to take his talents and his outstanding 27-5 record to Colorado, where he is now the coach of the CU Buffaloes football team. 

The funny thing about Prime's leaving Jackson State is that I got to see that the cult of celebrity is just as strong in sports as it is for those Trump supporters who refuse to critique their "god" (if not demagogue). Meaning, it amused me, in a gallows humor kind of way, to see all of the "y'all just hating on Prime" comments up and down Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook when the hiring announcement was made in early December. As for me, I have written multiple times that it would be hard for any person to turn down a pay raise from $450,000 to $5.5 million per year! But the issue, at least for me when he announced that he was leaving, is that Prime routinely said that "money ain’t no concern," and that "God led me to Jackson to restore HBCU football." Thus, when folks ask whether money was an issue, or ask whether God is now telling Prime to go to a school in a city that is the polar opposite of an HBCU in the deep South as far as demographics, asking those questions doesn't render the questioner a "hater" at all.

Most HBCU supporters would have had an easier time understanding the move had it been to, say, Auburn or South Florida, schools that are deep in the “Black Belt” and within a short drive for the families of the kids that are most drawn to Prime's pitches. But Boulder? Colorado? With a paucity of Black folks, soul food, and “the culture?”

Stay tuned—and good luck, Brother!

In Memoriam

The Angel of Death silenced many public figures this year, including Maxi Jazz, Terry Hall, Robbie Coltrane, Olivia Newton-John, Ray Liotta, Coolio, Taylor Hawkins, Dame Deborah James, Angela Lansbury, Meat Loaf, Shane Warne, June Brown, Paul Sorvino, Christine McVie, Kirstie Alley, Irene Cara, Pele, Barbara Walters, and many, many others.

But the three public figure deaths that I would be remiss if I did not specifically “Hobbserve” in my finale are:

Sidney Poitier:

As a “Hobbs” of Bahamian descent, I've always taken great pride in the brilliant acting, humanitarian, and philanthropic efforts of the legendary Sidney Poitier, a Bahamian immigrant who was arguably the greatest actor of his age—if not all time!

When I was a kid watching Poitier, his dark complexion, his confidence, his pride that some critics deemed “arrogance,” and his flawless diction were clear signs that he was a strong and fearless Black man—one who reminded Black men across the Diaspora that we are all capable of demanding and commanding respect at all times!

Rest in peace, Sir—with love!

Queen Elizabeth II:

Speaking of the African Diaspora, when I was a child beginning my journey into world history back in 1977, I learned that Queen Victoria was Great Britain's longest reigning monarch and, as my teachers all opined, one whose 63 years as monarch would never be challenged.

Well, QEII out reigned her great grandmother by seven years—serving nearly 70 total! More crucially, QEII was the last colonizer to rule over an empire that at the start of her regnum in 1953, was still one in which “the sun never set on the British Empire.” In the years that followed her coronation, people in Africa, Asia, the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Americas demanded and won freedom from centuries of oppressive British rule—and the attendant financial exploitation of human, mineral, and material wealth that made the Royal family wealthy beyond measure.

Lest we forget…

Chesley Corrine Kryst:

Trial lawyer. Model. Miss USA. Journalist. All professional hats worn by Chesley Kryst, a hauntingly beautiful young woman who was equally haunted by depression, anxiety, and sexual harassment that vexed her to the point that she committed suicide this past January. 

Kryst was just 30 years old...

From the outside looking in, Ms. Kryst seemed to have all the tools for a long and fulfilling life, but her shocking death by suicide, just like Ellen Degeneres's DJ Stephen "tWitch" Boss later this year, is a reminder that so many people are truly hurting, despondent, disconsolate, and in desperate need of deep and abiding friendships, mentoring, counseling, and/or medications.

Lest we forget that the easy smiles, warm hugs, tender touches, and “I’m ok” professions often masquerade the turmoil that boils deep down inside so many of our family members, friends, and acquaintances. While many of us can never assuage those demons with our untrained advice or sincere empathy, what we can do, if we see even the slightest signs, is to encourage everyone in need to seek professional help if they need it. 

Thank you!

I am so very grateful for all of my faithful readers and followers—and I pray that you all have a wonderfully prosperous 2023!