Surreal. We didn’t want it darker, Leonard. A year in 2 minutes.

Merriam Webster announced the official word of the year for 2016. The word looked up by more people than almost any other word.

Surreal.

Once upon a time, surreal meant space & time twisting images. Melting clocks and ships with butterfly wings as sails. Until 2016 came along...

It started in January, when David Bowie released an album about his impending death. And then died on us.

Harper Lee, Prince, Nancy Reagan, Patty Duke, Muhammad Ali, Elie Wiesel, Gary Shandling, Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, John Glenn…

Pulse nightclub, police violence, mass shootings across the USA.

Black lives matter, all lives matter, pussy-gate, and a political race that separated friends and family like little else has since North battled South.

On November 7, Leonard Cohen died after releasing the album, “You Want it Darker”

The next day, it got darker.

Depending on who you ask, of course. Some may not agree. Time will tell.

Whites yelling at Muslims in public spaces, protests against immigration that bring to mind the days of KKK, desegregation and Rosa Parks. The ugly rise of the hate groups best described, perhaps, as alt-Reich.

2016 wasn’t done with us yet.

In December; Florence Henderson… Alan Thicke… Zsa Zsa Gabor.

As I write this, there is just over a week left until New Year’s bells ring once again. I am so ready to start a new year.

The illustrated version of 2016…

Thanks for reading! ❤