Josh Groban sings in his "Polar Express" hit that the very first step in making the impossible possible is you have to believe. Well, we all can think of somethings that are, like herding cats, beyond the bounds of possibility, and 2020 has proven it.

Before 2020, whoever imagined that we could walk up to a bank teller, wearing a mask that covered everything but the eyes, and ask for a money transaction? When the history books recall the year of COVID-19, I bet they miss some major unlikelihoods.

How else can you explain the turn around in paradigms, when our kids yell at us to stay at home and don't go out? The King and I's Yule Brenner would say, "Is a puzzlement!"

Speaking of reversals, last year, we were told to stay away from negative people, but this year we're instructed to stay away from positive people, as in those positive for the coronavirus.

And 2020 is also going down in history as accomplishing the unachievable by carrying off what no wife has ever been able to do: canceling sports and shutting down the bars. Before now, I'd have said you don't have a prayer keeping the guys home under those pretenses.

Some of us remember saying I wouldn't touch that so-and-so with a six-foot pole. Well, that one-liner has become the aphorism of the year.

You see, turning the impossible possible is possible, in case you were a non-believer before now. Norman Vincent Peale said something to the effect that regardless of how tough and excruciating things are, do what it takes, and raise your sights to unfamiliar innovation. That's some friendly wisdom to take with us into the New Year, but I'm still going to try to get my money back for my pricey 2020 planner.

Here's to a turnaround for 2021!

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

20 Words and Phrases That Are So 2020

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