A day doesn’t seem like much. Only 24 hours long, at least eight of which are spent asleep (in theory) – some pass quickly, some slowly. Moments of madness and peace, deadlines met and missed, soccer games and Super Bowls and shopping; life just happens.
Each day carries the weight of the days before it, adding up to months and years and lifetimes. History has not yet told us all that will be remembered about 2015, but history is made of moments. Here are some of the moments we’ll remember from the year that was.
The world financial markets were rocked by the Chinese stock market’s wobbles and Greece’s constant flirtation with complete default, while the Fed kept a tight lid on interest rates, finally raising them this month after nearly a decade. A record-breaking climate accord was achieved, though it may not be enough to save the world’s cities from rising tides.
Closer to home, Massachusetts started the year with the worst winter on record. The T, it became clear, was not up to the challenge. The state’s economy (other than snow-removal crews) came to a crashing halt several times, for several days, while the people dug out again. Pipes froze, kitchens flooded, roofs collapsed. (Yes, we’re still bitter.)
The Bay State’s residents are nothing if not capable of rising to a challenge. While the last of the snow finally melted in the Seaport’s snow farm on July 14, the spring housing market was already white-hot and continued that way for the rest of the year, seasonal slowdowns be damned.
Commercial developments bloomed and blossomed throughout the suburbs and luxury high-rises continued to reshape Boston’s skyline. In one of the most symbolic farewells to the recession, Millennium Tower – built on the cursed site of the former Filene’s Basement building in what was once the city’s Combat Zone – had its topping off ceremony in September, on the two-year anniversary of its groundbreaking. The 442-unit luxury tower pre-sold 90 percent of its units in advance of its anticipated summer 2016 opening.
These moments, of course, only touch on the markets of our readers. There was so much more that touched us all as humans. Terrorist attacks continued at home and abroad; we stood with Charlie, we stood with Paris, with Syria, Nigeria, San Bernardino, even Russia, and with so many, many more. The refugee crisis polarized the world; the presidential primaries polarized the United States; #BlackLivesMatter polarized the Twittersphere.
Much more will emerge from 2015. History is made of moments, and moments are difficult to recognize as you’re living them. The evils brought to light this year, it may be hoped, will eventually be found only in books. The beauty that began here will continue and endure. The children born this year will change the world – not all of them, it’s true. But enough of them.
Happy New Year, readers; we wish you all the best in 2016.
