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Year gave residents peaks and valleys
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Published: December 28, 2008
It seems a pretty sure bet that 2008 will supply historians fodder for decades to come.
If this year were to be summed up in two words they would undoubtedly be "election" and "economy."
While voters elected the nation's first African-American president after a year-long campaign and the nation's financial infrastructure teetered on collapse, local folks were also dealing with a number of more personal issues.
Some good and some bad.
"I always have a good year," said Gaye Bowles. "But this year was especially good, I think. The best part of it was that I had my first grandson, Julian, who was born on Nov. 10."
Bowles, 44, also pointed out that, unlike many others, she still has a job and a roof over her head.
"It could be far worse," she said. "There are a lot of people out of work and who lost their homes in foreclosure. But look at this, we got to see our first black president. That's history that my children got to experience and that my parents never thought they would ever get to see.
"Now he has to fix this economy, but it's good to have him there, so that's good."
Conversely, Robin Key, who turns 44 today, said her past few years have been difficult ones.
"It's nothing specific, but I've had depression, and that's tough," she said.
Key added that while she was happy to still have her job, at Cedarbrook Country Club Bar & Grille, she has good days and bad ones.
"It's a constant battle, depression is," said Key, who is originally from West Virginia.
She had just watched her beloved West Virginia University Mountaineers eke out a win against the University of North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl and saw that as a sign of brighter days ahead.
"Things are getting better already," she said. "And I know 2009 is going to be a good year. It's just got to be."
Janice Daniels, 50, is also embracing an optimistic outlook for the future, adding that the present times are only as bleak as folks believe them to be.
"I know the economy is bad and times are rough," she said. "But there are always going to be obstacles, so you have to move on and trust God. My year was good, and I expect next year to be even better."
For John Allison, 65, all the years started blending together three years ago when he retired from the Greensboro Library system.
"It has become a matter of trying to fill the hours of boredom," he said. "I know there has been a lot of talk about how the economy has put everyone in a slump, but I don't buy anything except marginal items so the years start dragging on, and it's really hard to tell one year from the other."
For Miranda Baker, 26, the opposite has been true.
"The year has been a whirlwind," she said. "There has been so much that's happened — like the election and the economy — and still it seems like it's gone by so quickly. Overall, I'd say the year's been good, but I'm still wrapping my brain around it."
For Larry Bolton, the circumstances of 2008 helped point his life in a completely different direction.
He started the year at Metal Sales but was laid off when the company experienced a need for cutbacks. After that, he enrolled at Mitchell Community College and hopes to eventually get a degree in business management.
"The economy has got to get better some day," said Bolton, who now works at Second Fret in downtown Statesville. "And hopefully, by the time I finish school, they'll need me."
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