In comparison with the span of time, ten years really isn’t that long, however a lot can happen in that time. The last ten years have brought lots of significant changes to my life. I got a new job, moved twice to different cities, got divorced and remarried, had a son and met through blogging some amazing people from various parts of the Diaspora. Through it all I have come to appreciate and enjoy my life more and more.

On this, the last day of the decade, I will highlight year by year, a couple significant events which at least changed my world.

2000: The largest non-event that happened to begin the new decade: Y2K! We were told to expect the apocalypse when the clocks hit “0-0-0”. Computers would crash, planes and satellites would then fall from the sky, traffic lights would go haywire causing multiple accidents, we would be without electricity, heat and water. There was to be worldwide panic followed by widespread lootings and killings. We were encouraged to hoard food, water, batteries and get rid of our condoms… so we could immediately begin to repopulate the planet. I was assigned to a uniform detail and sat in a basement with a riot team ready to be deployed to protect life, property and restore order. I ended up playing Euchre ’til 6 in the morning, while my family and friends partied like it’s 1999!

2001: 9/11 happened and changed the world as we know it. It lead to a new assignment and a couple relocations for me. Selfishly, it also made it more of a hassle for me (and all of us I suspect) to travel by plane than increase my (our) confidence in the safety of air travel.

2002: I moved from Toronto to Windsor.
           U.S. and other allied forces invasion of Afghanistan begins on 01 March.   

2003: Tampa Bay Buccaneers whip the Oakland Raiders 48-12 in SuperBowl XXXVII on 26 January. The Raiders haven’t recovered since.  
           The U.S. and the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” invades Iraq on 20 March.

2004: The Madrid Spain, train bombings on 11 March.
            Re-election of George W. Bush.   

2005: London, England subway and bus terrorist bombings on 07 July.
           Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans and the Gulf Coastal region causing death and mayhem.     

2006: On 31 January my father died.
           On Friday 05 May, my partner was murdered.
           On 28 July I got married.
           In October, I move to our nation’s capital, Ottawa.

2007: The birth of my son.
           The genesis of the AfroSpear.

2008: Election of 1st African-American president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.

2009: H1N1 global pan(ic)demic. 
           Death of Michael Jackson.
           Nigerian terrorist attempts to blow up plane, now justifying even more racial profiling of Black people travelling by air. I’m done travelling by plane for a while! 

2010: We made it! Happy New Decade!