Actually, that's untrue. As I recently realized, we entered the last half of the decade on Jan. 1, 2025 – presuming you aren't one of those maniacs who believe a decade ends with a year that ends with 0 (those people had quite a run at the end of the last century, when they insisted the millennium didn't end until the end of 2000, rather than the end of 1999. I blame them for everything bad that's happened since). The first half of the 2020s included 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Anyway, it's a new year and (unless you're an extremist), it's the seventh (!) year in the 2020s. As such, it's incumbent on me to give you a preview of what's to come as we continue the most insane decade since the 1960s (that decade included the assassinations of JFK, Martin Luther King Jr., Bobby Kennedy, Malcolm X and more; the Vietnam War and related protests; the Cuban Missile Crisis; the moon landing; Woodstock and more. It tops Trump, COVID, Trump, Trump and Trump. Barely).
With that in mind, let's kick off 2026 with 10 guaranteed predictions, some of which are personalized.
1. This is the year that you keep your vow to eat better and exercise more. You'll end 2026 healthier and more optimistic than ever. Or maybe not. Maybe you won't even make a vow. One of those will happen.
2. After 2025's mild summer and a mild start to winter, we'll have a wild-weather 2026, with spring floods followed by an early and hot summer that will break records. Or perhaps not. Maybe it will be another mild winter and summer. Or a normal one. Who knows? One of those is likely true.
3. In a related matter, the winter weather will lead state-level fire and weather people to issue warnings that it could be a really bad fire season because there was either too much or too little rain. No matter what happens, we're always warned about that.
4. Re-read the previous paragraph and insert the word "flu" for "fire." And ignore the parts about rain.
5. NBA superstar LeBron James will drop hints every month over the rest of the season that this will be his last season, but will deny that's what he's doing while he's dropping even more hints. In late summer, he'll announce that he's returning to the Lakers on a cheaper contract. Or perhaps not. Maybe he retires, maybe he plays somewhere else. One of those will likely happen.
6. You'll spend too much time worrying about and considering the ramifications of November's midterm elections, which could flip control of the House of Representatives (or perhaps even the Senate) to Democrats. Or you won't. One of those is true.
7. On July 4, America will celebrate its 250th birthday with celebrations and joy and unity, showing a new sense of a national purpose. Or not. This one I'm pretty sure is a "not." In fact, I'm sure it's a "not." So disregard this and re-read the prediction about the fire season.
8. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, YouTube and other streaming services will continue to collect the rights to show live sports and entertainment programming, making us pay hundreds of dollars a month to see what we used to be able to see on 100 (or fewer) cable channels. Then they'll create new bundle packages that allow you to watch what you want without spending all that money. Or that won't happen. No, it probably won't happen, but this is slightly more likely than a shared sense of national purpose on July 4.
9. This year you'll get organized and have a plan that minimizes the stress of the holidays by paying attention all year and getting the perfect early for the people who matter most in your life. Or not, with you going to the mall on Amazon in a desperate search for an acceptable gift at the last minute. One of those or something in between will be true.
10. The biggest news story of 2026 will be something that is not on our radar at all right now, but 365 days from now, we'll consider it the defining thing of the year. I don't have an alternate for this prediction, because it's a lock.
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment