Congratulations: If you’re reading this, you’ve made it through 2020 (or, depending on when you picked up this issue, to within sight of the finish line)! For the past few years, Volume One has used the final issue of the year to publish a “Year in Review Quiz” to test readers’ memories about local happenings from the past 12 months. It’s an opportunity for our staff to dig into – and crack wise about – the news.

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There’s an old saying that “Comedy equals tragedy plus time.” In the case of 2020, we don’t have the critical element of time to set us apart from the awfulness of the year.

This year we’re doing the same – you’ll find the quiz, complete with some truly atrocious font choices, on Page 40 of the print issue – but we admit it’s hard to relive 2020, especially considering it’s not technically done yet. And, to be perfectly frank, it’s hard to make jokes about a year that has brought at least a little misery into everyone’s life and a lot of misery into the lives of those who’ve lost jobs, businesses, or even loved ones because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (And that’s not even mentioning the other heart-wrenching, society-dividing events that have occurred.)

There’s an old saying that “Comedy equals tragedy plus time.” In the case of 2020, we don’t have the critical element of time to set us apart from the awfulness of the year. Still, we forge ahead, trying to find good humor (or maybe just gallows humor) amid all the dire headlines. New years are supposed to be about new beginnings, and we all could use one of those. So welcome, 2021! And 2020? We’ll see you in Hell.