In times like these, it is helpful to remember that there have always been times like these. – Paul Harvey

Yes, things are going crazy. Someone in an article on a news site commented that this year has been tumblr fan fiction weird. It has.

Yet this has not been the first crazy year ever — or necessarily the craziest year. Remember 2008? The world was going to end due to the housing bubble collapsing, followed by Obama’s election. How is that for weird? (Remember McCain’s bizarre suspension of his campaign?) How about 2001? The dot-com bust followed by 9-11. Or how about the Y2K craziness in 1999? Going to the year 2000 was going to end civilization. (It didn’t but a couple of friends nearly bankrupted themselves buying prepper supplies in anticipation. 1991 was another year the crazy was strong with the Gulf War followed by a recession triggered by taxing the rich. So was 1987 with a stock market crash triggered by computer trading. (I knew those things hated us.)

I could go on. 1986 saw the Challenger disaster. That was a personal exercise in challenging times. I was working mission control at the time — after a contract change — and suddenly there were no missions to fly. Oops.

To say nothing of historical years of crazy times: 1961 (Cuban Missile Crisis), 1941 (Pearl Harbor), 1929 (Black Monday), 1883 (Krakatoa explosion), and much, much more.

Crazy is the normal state of human endeavor. My advice? Sit back and watch the ride. Do what you can to mend your corner of the universe. And remember — in times like these, it is helpful to remember that there have always been times like these.