Year two of the pandemic and the tornadoes have put a damper on the Christmas season

Christmas is supposed to be filled with joy and the holiday spirit. But for the past two Christmas seasons we have had to deal with Covid-19, and now added to that this year the tornadoes in western Kentucky have put a damper on everything.

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

I hope you don’t feel as down as I do. The above mentioned and other things that affect my life have me wanting to find a release from stresses that come at this time of the year.

Last Christmas Eve I started coughing and was having trouble breathing. If you will remember it started snowing. My condition got so bad that my wife drove me around in the snow to the various clinics to try to get some help but they were not taking patients. I talked her out of taking me to the emergency room at the hospital but two days later my condition got so bad that a local doctor agreed to see me after hours.

After getting shots and some medicine my condition got some better, but I was still coughing and having trouble breathing. Seven months and seven doctors later I found out that I had a collapsed trachea.

Today I live with the collapsed trachea along with lung cancer. However, because of good doctors my condition has improved.

So the horrible thoughts of my situation last year, along with what is going on in the world makes it difficult to really enjoy what this season is all about.

But there are good parts of the season that can lift ones spirits. I like going to church and hearing the music and especially going to the candlelight service. There is nothing like grandchildren to brighten ones spirits.

So rather than sit back and feel sorry for myself I have made a special effort to attend Christmas programs and activities. I hate writing a depressing column like this but I hope it will encourage others to recognize that there are many outlets to break up what can be one of the most depressing parts of the year for many people. Take advantage of these and make an effort to lift your spirits.

A Christmas wish this year would be for everyone to get vaccinated and help us wipe out the epidemic that plagues us. There are still too many resisting and therefore the epidemic lingers.

Another wish would be for all who can to help those in western Kentucky by donating to the cause.

I was under the impression that climate change was the cause of the devastating tornado in western Kentucky and I was surprised to find out that there have been fewer and fewer tornadoes in the past decade.

They are at record lows.

Although carbon emissions increased between 1954 and 2014, the number of annual tornadoes did not increase, in fact they went down.

With hurricanes the public gets a timely warning, but with tornadoes they can hit unexpectedly like the one in western Kentucky during the night.

Years ago I bought a radio that would alert us about major storms, but it sounded off so often during the night that it became a nuisance.

Now most cell phones sound off an alarm if threatening weather is approaching. This is very comforting.

We are not immune from tornadoes in this part of the country, thus it is best if you have a plan in case our area is ever hit.

Many of you will remember the tornadoes that have hit this area in the past. They were nothing in scope to compare with the ones in western Kentucky, but they were very scary.

I remember waiting one out that hit in the north Corbin area. It was a frightening experience, one that I don’t want to happen again.