SPOILER: Pssst, None Of Us Make It Out Of Life Alive!
2016 has been a year where no one’s Childhood Heroes, Sports Icons, Music Stars, favorite Writing Talent, Journalists, Politicians, War Heroes, Entertainers, or Rock Legends have proven safe from the brutal grips of the ever-vigilant Reaper. We have all felt what it means to be left gobsmacked by Death’s swift & unyielding touch. Final, without warning, yet as natural a part of life as being born. We are left with our mouth agape, gasping for air as though we were just punched in the gut.
You think, “I just saw Carrie Fisher on the big screen as Princess Leia in Rogue One. She looked so healthy… how is this possible?” It makes you consider getting a health work up done. Take a good look at the cast of “players” in your own life. Perhaps even appreciating them that much more, flaws & all baby! Because truly, you just never know. Tomorrow is never promised. If you are waiting on a sign, THIS is Definitely it! Go bridge that divide, make good on that promise, fulfill that bucket list, whatever. It’s never good to wait!
Anyway…
2016 has not been ALL bad, not all Death & Gloom. Despite what so many, even I have said!! With that, I leave you the list that I have tediously accumulated. Enjoy!! Sources Cited… as always. Share this with your family & friends, would ya? We can all use a bit of Hope this time of the year! Thanks! And, Happy New Year!
- British Columbia protected 85% of one of the world’s largest temperate rain forests
- Child Mortality – Down across the globe
- Peru and Bolivia signed a $500 million deal to preserve Lake Titicaca
- Scientists in the US announced they had detected the existence of gravitational waves, confirming Einstein’s century-old theory of gravity
- +9% survival rate in pancreatic cancer sufferers
- Gene responsible for ALS found
- Death by heart disease has decreased by 70% in the United States
- There’s finally an Ebola Vaccine
- US high school graduation rate at all time high
- In July, more than 800,000 volunteers in India planted 50 million trees in one day. The country is planning on reforesting 12% of its land.
- New research showed that acid pollution in the atmosphere is now almost back to the level that it was before it started with industrialization in the 1930s.
- In June, a new survey showed that the ozone hole has shrunk by more than 3.9 million square kilometers since 2006. Scientists now think it will now be fully healed by 2050.
- The US Special Forces soldier who beat up an Afghan officer for raping a boy was exonerated of any crime by the US Army
- The notorious Planet 9 has not been directly observed, yet through computer simulations of the orbits of several distant objects beyond Neptune to show the possible presence of the unseen planet. It’s believed to be 10 times the size of Earth!
- World’s First “three-parent baby” was born into the world by using a controversial new IVF technique that combines DNA from three people — the mother, the father and an egg donor. The technique involved removing some of the mother’s DNA from an egg and leaving the disease-causing DNA behind.
- Leo DeCaprio finally won an Oscar
- Chicago Cubs won the World Series – no more cursed goat
- Scientists happened across a piece of amber which had preserved the intact feathers from a dinosaur tail.
- A bad marriage can lead to an early death
- Colombian government and FARC rebels came to PEACE
- A solar powered plane circumnavigates globe without any sort of fossil fuel
- The World Health Organization released a report showing that, since the year 2000, global malaria deaths have declined by 60%.
- WHO announced that measles have finally been eradicated in all of the Americas, from Canada to Chile. It’s the first time the disease has been eliminated from an entire world region.
- World hunger reached its lowest point in 25 years, no doubt thanks to selectively engineered crops.
- In June, after years of wrangling, the drive to end female genital mutilation in Africa made a major breakthrough, when the Pan African Parliament endorsed a continent-wide ban.
- 2016 marked the 24th year in a row that teenage pregnancy rates declined in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
- USA supreme Court outlawed for-profit prisons on a federal level!!
- Thanks to rapid technological innovation and political support from around the world, renewables now account for more installed capacity than any other form of electricity in the world.
- The Chinese government placed a ban on new coal mines, created new rules for grid access, and doubled its renewables targets for 2020.
- Norway became the first country in the world to commit to zero deforestation.
- The world’s largest marine zone, a 600,000-square-mile swath of ocean, was established in Antarctica’s Ross Sea this fall.
- By August, every major grocery and fast-food chain in the US had pledged to use only cage-free eggs by 2025.
- In 2016, for the first time, we heard that the number of tigers in the wild rose for the first time in 100 years.
- In September, giant pandas became the latest species to be taken off the endangered list.
- In February, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the global manatee population is no longer endangered.
- Wild wolves started coming back to Europe, and for the first time since the American Revolution, wild salmon began spawning in the Connecticut River.
- In March, Yellowstone’s grizzly bears passed a major milestone, completing one of the greatest wildlife comeback stories in history.
- Fifty years ago, the Columbian white-tailed deer population was 450 animals. This year, the US Fish and Wildlife Service took it off the endangered list.
- Mongolia created one of the world’s largest protected areas for snow leopards.
- Green sea turtles in Florida and Mexico were taken off the endangered list.
- Sea World agreed to stop breeding captive killer whales.
- Humpback whales were removed from the endangered species list, having fully recovered in the last 46 years. Take THAT Star Trek!!
- At the beginning of the year, we heard that Global Aid & Development increased by 7%
- 2015 was America’s most generous year ever, with charitable donations from individuals, estates, foundations, and corporations reaching record highs. 2016 is on track to be even bigger.
Good things that have nothing to do with 2016 but I love so surely they can make you feel better over the HoliDaze… What are some of your own go-to happies? (leave in the comment section please)
- Puppies & Kittens (I love the smell of puppy’s breath and toes – *their toes smell like popcorn*)
- Wedding & Birthday Cake
- Hiking in the woods
- Rain (I like listening to rain hit a metal roof and smelling how clean everything smells directly after the rain)
- Board & Card Games with family & friends
- Kissing
- Music (Music is tied to so many memories)
- Friends’ laughing together about the smallest things is one of the greatest pleasures
- *If you are a religious person you are an imperfect masterpiece creating yourself
- **If you are not then you are a splendid coincidence coming together one day at a time
- Any time spent with loved ones, be they family or friends is a well-spent year. Precious memories are made during that time. Trust me.
Sources Cited
A full list of all the celebrities that passed away in 2016 as of December 28, 2016
Bless those they left behind!
JANUARY
4 – Robert Stigwood, Entertainment Manager – age 81
6 – Pat Harrington Jr., Actor – age 86
7 – Troy Shondell, Singer – age 76
7 – Kitty Kallen, Singer – age 94
9 – Angus Scrimm, Acto – age 89
10 – David Bowie, Musician – age 69
11 – David Margulies, Actor – age 78
14 – Alan Rickman, Actor – age 69
14 – René Angélil, Singer/Manager – age 73
15 – Dan Haggerty, Actor – age 74
15 – Noreen Corcoran, Actress – age 72
18 – Glen Frey, Singer/Songwriter – age 67
26 – Abe Vigoda, Actor – age 94
28 – Paul Kantner, Singer/Songwriter – age 74
28 – Mike Minor, Actor – age 75
FEBRUARY
2 – Bob Elliot, Comedian – age 92
3 – Maurice White, Musician/Songwriter – age 74
3 – Joe Alaskey, Voice Actor – age 63
4 – Joe Dowell, Pop Singer – age 76
13 – Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court Justice – age 79
15 – George Gaynes, Actor – age 98
15 – Vanity, Actress/Singer – age 57
19 – Harper Lee, Novelist – age 89
22 – Yolande Fox, Singer – age 87
22 – Sonny James, Country Music Singer/Songwriter – age 87
24 – Lennie Baker, Musician – age 69
25 – Tony Burton, Actor – age 78
28 – George Kennedy, Actor – age 91
29 – Gil Hill, Police Commander/Actor – age 84
MARCH
4 – Joey Martin Feek, Country Music Singer/Songwriter– age 40
6 – Nancy Reagan, First Lady of the U.S.(1981-1989) Husband, 40th President Ronald Reagan – age 94
8 – Sir George Martin, Producer for the “Beatles” albums – age 90
9 – Robert Horton, Actor– age 91
10 – Keith Emerson, Musician/Keyboardist – age 71
13 – Adrienne Corri, Actress – age 85
16 – Frank Sinatra Jr., Singer– age 72
17 – Larry Drake, Actor – age 66
18 – Joe Santos, Actor – age 84
21 – Peter Brown, Actor – age 80
22 – Rob Ford, Politician, Mayor of Toronto – age 46
22 – Richard Bradford, Actor – age 81
22 – Phife Dawg, Singer – age 45
23 – Joe Garagiola, Baseball Player – age 90
23 – Ken Howard, Actor – age 71
24 – Earl Hamner, Jr., Writer/Producer – age 92
24 – Garry Shandling, Comedian – age 66
27 – Mother Angelica, Franciscan Nun – age 92
28 – James Noble, Actor – age 94
APRIL
6 – Merle Haggard, Singer/Songwriter – age 79
12 – Anne Jackson, Actress – age 90
17 – Doris Roberts, Actress – age 90
20 – Victoria Wood, English Comedian/Actress – age 62
20 – Chyna, WWE wrestler – age 46
21 – Prince, Musician – age 57
21 – Lonnie (Mack) McIntosh, Guitarist – age 74
23 – Madeleine Sherwood, Actress – age 94
24 – Billy Paul, Singer – age 81
MAY
8 – William Schallert, Actor – age 93
12 – Julius La Rosa, Singer – age 86
19 – Morley Safer, Journalist for CBS News for 52 years – age 84
19 – Alan Young, Actor – age 96
24 – Burt Kwouk, Actor – age 85
27 – Mike Barnett, Singer – age 89
29 – Patty Duke, Singer – age 69
JUNE
3 – Muhammad Ali, Professional Boxer – age 74
10 – Gordie Howe, Hockey player for Detroit Red Wings – age 88
13 – Michu Meszaros, Actor/Circus Performer – age 76
14 – Ann Guilbert, Actress – age 87
14 – Ronnie Claire Edwards, Actress – age 83
16 – Jo Cox, British Labour Party Member of Parliament – age 41
17 – Ron Lester, Actor – age 45
19 – Anton Yelchin, Actor – age 27
27 – Mack Rice, Songwriter – age 82
28 – Scotty Moore, Guitarist – age 84
28 – Buddy Ryan, NFL Football Coach – age 85
28 – Pat Summitt, NCAA Basketball Coach– age 64
JULY
2 – Michael Cimino, Writer/Director – age 77
2 – Elie Wiesel, Jewish Writer/Political activist – age 87
2 – Teddy Rooney, Actor/Musician – age 66
3 – Noel Neill, Actress – age 95
6 – Danny Smythe, Musician – age 67
16 – Bonnie Brown, Musician – age 77
19 – Garry Marshall, Writer/Producer/Actor – age 81
27 – Jerry Doyle, Actor– age 60
30 – Gloria DeHaven, Actress/Singer – age 91
AUGUST
2 – David Huddleston, Actor – age 85
3 – Ricci Martin, Entertainer – age 62
6 – Pete Fountain, Jazz Musician – age 86
11 – Glenn Yarbrough, Singer – age 86
13 – Michel Richard, Chef/Restaurateur – age 68
13 – Kenny Baker, Actor – age 81
14 – Fyvush Finkel, Actor – age 93
19 –Jack Riley, Actor – age 80
23 – Steven Hill, Actor – age 94
25 – Jeanne Martin, Model – age 89
25 – Marvin Kaplan, Actor – age 89
29 – Gene Wilder, Actor – age 83
SEPTEMBER
1 – Jon Polito, Actor – age 65
6 – Hugh O’Brian, Actor – age 91
9 – James Stacy, Actor– age 79
17 – Charmian Carr, Actress – age 73
24 – Bill Nunn, Actor – age 63
25 – Jean Shepard, Singer/Songwriter – 82
25 – José Fernández, Baseball player for Miami Marlins – age 24
25 – Arnold Palmer, Golfer – age 87
28 – Shimon Peres, Statesman – age 93
OCTOBER
21 – Kevin Meaney, Comedian – age 60
23 – Pete Burns, Singer/Songwriter – age 57
24 – Bobby Vee, Singer – age 73
30 – Tammy Grimes, Stage Actress – age 82
NOVEMBER
3 – Kay Starr, Singer – age 94
7 – Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States 1993-2001 – age 78
7 – Leonard Cohen, Poet / Songwriter – age 82
11 – Robert Vaughn, Actor – age 83
13 – Leon Russell, Musician/Songwriter – age 74
14 – Gwen Ifill, Journalist for “Washington Week” and “PBS NewsHour” on PBS – age 61
15 – Holly Dunn, Singer/Songwriter – age 59
18 – Sharon Jones, American soul and funk singer – age 60
24 – Florence Henderson, Actress/Singer – Carol Brady on “The Brady Bunch” (1969 to 1974) – age 82
25 – Fidel Castro, Dictator – Prime Minister then President of Cuba from 1959-2008 – age 90
25 – Ron Glass, Actor – age 71
26 – Fritz Weaver, Actor – age 90
28 – Van Williams, Actor – age 82
28 – Jim Delligatti, McDonald’s franchisee/created The Big Mac – age 98
30 – Keo Woolford, Actor – age 49
30 – Grant Tinker, Television Executive/Chairman and CEO of NBC (1981-’86) – age 90
DECEMBER
3 – Don Calfa, Actor – age 76
3 – Billy Chapin, Actor – age 72
7 – Greg Lake, Musician – age 69
8 – Joseph Mascolo, Actor– age 87
8 – John Glenn, WWII & Korean War Fighter Pilot. Marine Colonel. NASA Astronaut. Senator from Ohio (1974-99) – age 95
12 – Jim Lowe, Singer – age 93
13 – Alan Thicke, Actor – age 69
14 – Bernard Fox, Actor – age 89
15 – Craig Sager, Sports Reporter – age 65
18 – Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian Actress/Socialite – age 99
18 – Gordie Tapp, Entertainer – age 94
20 – Michèle Morgan, French Actress – age 96
24 – Rick Parfitt, Musician/Songwriter – age 68
24 – Caroline Aherne, Comedienne/Actress – lead role and co-producer of “The Royle Family” – age 52
25 – George Michael, Singer/Songwriter – age 53
26 – Rickey Lopez, Actor – age 54
27 – Carrie Fisher, Actress – age 60
27 – Richard Adams, Author – age 96
I may have missed a couple… apologies if so.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2016
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