Idiot's revenge: the best and worst of 2017

With just a few days remaining until the ball drops—and I make a whole bunch of new resolutions I’ll keep for two weeks tops—it’s time to reflect on the year that was, 2017—or, 1 PT (Post Trump). The following paragraphs include random and entirely subjective awards that I threw together on a Thursday afternoon. I’ll see you all on the other side.  
 
Comeback of the year: Journalism
 
A journalist talking about journalism is about as cliché as a college kid with a John Belushi “Animal House” poster in his dorm room, but it’s hard to deny that the nation’s most maligned profession had quite a year. The two biggest stories of 2017—Harvey Weinstein’s history of harassment and Roy Moore’s (alleged) creepy advances on underage girls—came to light because the (failing) New York Times and (Amazon) Washington Post went out and did the leg work, reporting relentlessly in a manner that would’ve made Woodward and Bernstein proud and enduring a host of roadblocks along the way.
           
“Fake news” is now permanently etched in the English lexicon, and with shirts like the infamous “Rope. Tree. Journalist. Some Assembly Required” making the rounds in Trump’s America, we aren’t exactly a loved bunch among backers of the president.
 
But there’s still something to be said for real news and the people who find it. Journalism isn’t always fun, it’s rarely high paying and a lot of rich and powerful people hate it with a passion. It is, however, a necessary function of a free and open society and one that will be sorely missed if it ever disappears.
 
Internet troll of the year: Tie between @RealDonaldTrump and @SteveKingIA
           
Twitter, once a quaint corner of the world wide web reserved for Justin Bieber fans and those interested in Ashton Kutcher’s latest venture capital investment, has gradually replaced talk radio as the armpit of human interaction and the epicenter of all hot takes, from sports to politics to any other trivial topic you can imagine.
           
No one has better personified the rise of this medium than the two award recipients above, who thrive not so much on achieving any meaningful policy goals but rather inciting endless anger in the hearts and minds of their detractors. Trump’s social media posts get more outlandish by the day, and it’s impossible to keep track of all the people he’s offended in 2017. But America is great again—allegedly—and that’s all that really matters.
           
Our homegrown hero King threw another Porterhouse-sized slab of red meat to his supporters with some extremely important comments on assimilation recently, and the Internet has responded in kind by raking him over the coals knowing full well that the criticism will have no tangible effect on the Republican congressman. King will thrash the warm-bodied Democrat he faces in the next general election, because his prospective challengers all seem intent on preaching civility, decency and decorum, which is like lecturing Keith Richards or William S. Burroughs on the virtues of sobriety.
           
Here’s a little secret: to beat a troll, you’ve got to crawl under the bridge and get on its level. When the Democrats in District Four figure that out, they might have a fighting chance.
 
Saddest celebrity death of the year: Tom Petty
           
A day before Tom Petty died, I told Kellie that we needed to go see him live before he quit playing for good. Obviously, we never got the chance.
           
While he may not be revered on the same level as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen or Neil Young for his songwriting chops, Petty’s work contained an uncommon hybrid of universal appeal and deceptive depth that won’t be matched anytime soon. Critics and fans alike loved him, and he saved rock and roll at a time that it could’ve died for good.
           
Before I ever knew who he was, I was singing along to his songs on the radio. When I picked up a harmonica at the ripe old age of 21, I instantly set out to learn “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” and “You Don’t Know How It Feels.”
           
Without knowing someone personally, it’s difficult to gauge the kind of human they are, but Petty, more so than most celebrities, always presented himself as down to earth, humble and grateful for the success he’d had. Thank God for Spotify, because whenever I miss him, “Learning to Fly” or “American Girl” is only a click away.
 
Album of the year: Tyler Childers, “Purgatory”
           
In the aftermath of the great “Bro Country” revolution of the early 2010s, there are a lot of former fans of the genre yearning for a return of authenticity, steel guitars and, for once, a song that doesn’t compare a girl to an alcoholic beverage, another song or a truck. Luckily for these individuals (I count myself as one), great modern country music is being made with nods to the legends that elevated it to such a prominent position in the American zeitgeist in the first place.
           
Tyler Childers is a 25-year-old from the coal-mining region of eastern Kentucky, and his songs reflect influences in traditional country, bluegrass and southern rock. “Purgatory” includes fiddle, mouth harp and all of the other audible elements that Waylon and Merle aficionados can appreciate.
           
“Whitehouse Road,” my favorite song on the album, is a logical successor to Steve Earle’s alt-country classic “Copperhead Road” as the next great barroom redneck anthem, telling the tale of a happy-go-lucky blue-collar man who drinks, drugs and gets himself into any other sort of trouble he can find. Other standouts include “Feathered Indians,” “I Swear (To God),” and “Universal Sound.” Simply put, “Purgatory” is a must listen.
 
Honorable mentions: Colter Wall, “Colter Wall;” The War on Drugs, “A Deeper Understanding;” and The Turnpike Troubadours, “A Long Way From Your Heart”
 
Worst sports take of the year: U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, “America Needs Husker Football to Win”
           
Hawkeye and Cyclone fans love to engage in rancorous bickering from time to time, but at least we can unite around a common nemesis to the west and take solace in all of its recent failures. The evil empire has experienced a decline akin to post-Soviet Russia in the last 20 years or so, but the Husker faithful have gone all in on golden boy Scott Frost—a former Nebraska quarterback—to restore them to something resembling their past glory.
           
Enter Congressman Jeff Fortenberry and this atrocity of a column, first published in the Omaha World-Herald on December 23, and it becomes quite easy to understand why the rest of the nation hasn’t really minded Big Red’s downfall at all. The paragraph that follows succinctly explains why everyone who isn’t a Nebraska fan loathes Nebraska so intensely.
           
“Football means something to America. And an epic program such as Nebraska’s means something even more. As I said to one national media outlet, “America needs Nebraska to win.” It is about respect for the Cornhuskers and their culture of excellence. It’s about our big, corn-fed linemen, our hard-nosed backs and our tradition of receivers who actually block. We help give America a sense that guts and determination, tradition and honor, still matter.”
           
Translation: We’re the only school that plays football THE RIGHT WAY, and I am a self-righteous elected official desperate to score cheap points with my constituents.
           
No, Mr. Fortenberry, America does not “need” Nebraska to win. We’ve gotten along just fine without it, and some people (like me) have greatly enjoyed witnessing the program’s descent into eternal mediocrity. You ran off a good but emotionally unstable coach in Bo Pelini, and even if the Hawkeyes never bring home a national title, I hope Kirk Ferentz beats the Huskers 50 more times before he retires.
 
Dishonorable mentions: Me, for predicting that the New York Giants were Super Bowl contenders this season, anything written by Clay Travis, and Donald Trump on the NFL national anthem protests.
 
Favorite local story of the year: Tie between “Going Out With Grace” and “Heroes Among Us”
           
It was an interesting year at The Grundy Register, and even for a tiny hometown paper, we were faced with some pretty heavy topics. It’s also the year that I’m proudest of so far as I look back, thanks in large part to the two aforementioned stories.
           
Darla Ubben was someone I befriended almost instantly upon my arrival in Conrad in 2013, and when I made plans to interview her on Thursday, November 30, I had no idea that she’d be gone by the time the next newspaper went to print. Perhaps because of this fact, however, the ensuing article became even more poignant, and support for her family has poured out of the Conrad community since her passing on December 4. I’ll always be grateful that I got to visit with her one last time, and I’ll be keeping Eugene, Conner, Madison and Sam in my prayers this holiday season.
           
What happens when you bring together 13 men, all over the age of 90, together in front of a rock? As it turns out, one of the most interesting conversations you’ll ever have in your life. The Grundy County World War II veterans I spoke with were gracious, open and more than willing to share their stories, and anytime I think I’ve got it bad, I imagine what it must’ve been like to be on a boat headed overseas uncertain if I’d ever return.
           
As I later found out, one of the veterans in the photo, Richard Ohrt from Reinbeck, passed away four days after the gathering at the age of 92, so I’d like to give him special mention. Thank you for your service, and may it never be forgotten.
Best movie I saw this year: “Wonder”
           
Is this movie deliberately sentimental and emotionally overwrought? Yes. Is it cool for me to admit that I cried anyway? Probably not. Did I cry anyway? Absolutely.
           
“Wonder” brings us inside the world of August Pullman, a child born with a facial deformity who’s had at least 27 surgeries and wears a “Star Wars” mask to avoid jeers and insults. As he begins attending prep school and leaving the care of his mother (Julia Roberts), Augie experiences a lot of the horrible things an unusual looking kid expects when he surrounds himself with a horde of insecure fifth graders.
           
Nevertheless, Augie perseveres, and his family grows with him throughout the film. I won’t give away any spoilers, but there’s a happy ending.
           
In a separate category, some great older movies that I saw for the first time in 2017 included “Scent of a Woman” with Al Pacino, “All the President’s Men,” and “The Deer Hunter.”
 
Worst story of the year: The President of the United States
           
I’ve said about all there is to say about old Donald, and I’m not a big fan of him. Then again, some of you are, and that’s the beauty of it all: in America, you can think whatever the heck you want.
           
On the bright side, now that this whole tax reform deal has passed, I’ll get about $40 more per paycheck come 2018. Maybe I’ll don that “Make America Great Again” hat and become a Republican after all. 
           
#NewYearNewMe.
 
Agree? Disagree? You know where to find me. Regional Editor Robert Maharry can be reached at grundyhardinnews@midamericapub.com.