The end-of-year holiday season of 2021 is upon us, and again it seems that every year the wishes of peace on earth and goodwill to all go unanswered.

            And, again this year we faced the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic.  But a bright spot of good news broke Wednesday in the COVID battle.  According to Defense One, the U.S. Army has developed a vaccine to fight all variants of COVID-19, including Omicron and Delta; as well as all prior coronaviruses and strains not yet identified.

            Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to announce the one-stop shot in just weeks after nearly two years of research that began with the DNA sequencing of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020.

            We'll have to wait until sometime in January or February until all testing is complete and approvals are applied for.  But, it is a piece of good news on the COVID front.

            Meanwhile, across our great country, too many elected officials are still engaged in self-centered activities designed to harm others.  Instead of focusing on their responsibilities to the people they're supposed to serve, many of them choose to pursue their own personal agendas full of vendettas, payback, and pure hate.

            As we celebrate the holiday season, let's begin by giving thanks to all of the individuals and organizations who step forward to help make someone's Christmas a little brighter – a genuine "Thank You" for your heartfelt efforts.  The professions, names and programs are many, as is the satisfaction and gratitude that comes from them.  To those who chose to get involved, you are part of what makes a community special and gives hope to the future.  

            In the spirit of the season, TV, radio and newspapers go out of their ways to deluge us with wonderful accounts of people doing good things for other people.  Too bad we can't bottle it and use it throughout the year. 

            There are many individuals and groups whose service won't end just because it's a holiday.  Many of those individuals and groups will stand on the line, teetering between tranquility and trouble on Christmas Day.   

            We wish a safe and quiet holiday season for all members of the United States Armed Forces serving throughout the world, especially those serving in harm's way.

            We wish for a calm Christmas Eve and Day for the nurses, doctors and others who will staff our health care facilities.

            For the police officers patrolling the streets on this holiday, we sincerely wish that the only thing they have to write in their logs is "no incidents today."   May they also find a still moment to call their families, wish them a Merry Christmas.

            To the emergency medical services personnel and professional firefighters who will be on duty waiting to respond to a call for help – we hope that for one 24-hour period they never get it.

           To the volunteer firefighters, who stand ready to drop whatever they're doing and respond to a call for help from wherever they're at and whatever they're doing, a day to complete a meal with their families.

            Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza at this time of year, the staff at the Town and Country News wishes a safe holiday season to all of our readers and our fondest hope for a happy 2022.