BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR
by Jericho Van Orman

Just when I thought the year couldn't get any worse, along came the Menorah Gardens cemetery scandal. I came across the story three Fridays ago, one week ahead of the major networks. It was tucked away in the back of my local paper. The headline read: "Photos, Video Show Vaults' Bodies Discarded in Woods." Even though I live in another state, I like a sensational story as well as the next person. So I took the time to read about a Ft. Lauderdale cemetery that was caught putting bodies in the wrong graves, putting two or three bodies on top of each other in vaults, destroying vaults, and even digging up bodies and dumping them in the woods.

Service Corporation International of Houston, the world's largest cemetery and funeral home chain own the cemetery, Menorah Gardens. Notice that there's not even a hint of the company's business in its generic name. But something about the Menorah Gardens story started me thinking. Certainly, I'm horrified at the desecration of these graves, and at the lack of the company's respect for the dead, as well as for the living. So my anger comes as much from the fact that SCI broke a contract and cynically exploited people at their most vulnerable.

But believe it or not, this is not the column I started out to write as my last one of the year 2001. In fact, you could title it "Columnus Interruptus." Usually I use this time to sum up my impressions -- good and bad -- of the last 12 months. But Sept. 11 and its aftermath has left me close to being clinically depressed, and my writing has reflected my despair. Because I didn't want this column to be a laundry list of the world's ills, a few weeks ago I started searching for the antidote to depression, which is hope. I was off to a good start when New York's Mayor Rudolph Guiliani said, right after Sept. 11:

"We have met the worst of humanity with the best of humanity."

That was not only hopeful, but also true. Then I received e-mail from a new group called 9-11 Peace. They said that no matter how bad things might seem, there's always a reason to hope.

"At one time it seemed that slavery had always been a part of human history and always would be," the e-mail said. "But through the courage, sacrifice, and hard work of thousands of people, slavery was abolished in most countries. Apartheid ended. The Berlin wall came down. Women were enfranchised in many nations."

The e-mail listed several hopeful signs for today. One was the disarmament in Ireland and that country's growing peace and prosperity. Another was Yugoslavia's establishment of a Commission for Truth and Reconciliation, aimed at healing the wounds at the roots of the conflicts there. Another was that women are represented in the newly formed Afghanistan government, and there is a growing worldwide recognition of the importance of women in peacekeeping. Another was the Manifesto 2000 Signature Campaign, launched by UNESCO and several Nobel Peace Laureates, where signers commit to following a specific set of principals in their daily life. They promise to: Respect all life; reject violence; share with others; listen to understand; preserve the planet; rediscover solidarity. The good news is that 75 million people worldwide, with more people signing every day, have signed the manifesto.

Still searching, I found life affirming in music, too. For example, the new, three-disc compilation, "The Legendary Sun Records Story," is the Rosetta Stone of Rock 'n' Roll. It has 60 original songs by the original recording artists. Everyone but Elvis is on it -- Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and a bunch of one-hit wonders. You have to smile, and you'll probably dance, when you play it. And this has been a breakout year for dear Fred Eaglesmith, who writes songs that can break your heart, and plays them with the speed of bluegrass.

So there I was, riding on the hope train, picking up speed, well on my way to a New Year's column full of hope and maybe even cheer. Then on that Friday, three weeks ago I read the Menorah Gardens story and I was in the doldrums again. Usually at this time of year we wish each other "Happy New Year" with an emphasis on "Happy." This year, all I can do is wish you a happy NEW year, because this past one has been foul. Big time.