As to the ones with Trump in them, most are of him en route to or arriving at his campaign rallies. I don't quite understand why they were even included -- not only are the underlying events he is photographed in irrelevant to the world at large, these photos are not visually impressive -- especially when compared to the other photos, many of which are stunning and carry an emotional wallop.

My take: the Times is confirming the belief of tens of millions of Americans and many more millions around the world that Donald Trump is the least inspiring and least accomplished person ever to occupy a desk in the Oval Office. Everybody knows by now that whenever he opens his mouth or taps his finger to tweet, we are going to get a tall tale at best and a false characterization at worst of whatever subject his mind is fixated on that day. By now, all but the most dedicated journalists who have to cover him for their paycheck, greet his statements with a yawn. Shorter version: There are very few photos of Trump because he has proven himself to be irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

One has a caption which says he's off to a campaign event to seek the support of Black voters. But the image is just a glimpse of of Trump with his typically dour face through the window of an SUV. Why not have a photo of the Black voters who attended the rally? Could it be there weren't any? Then why is the photo included at all? Trump standing outside a car window means what?

The next headscratcher is one of the few showing him in a leadership role. It is this creepy photo at the State of Union address, depicting Nancy Pelosi clapping for Trump and seemingly reaching out to him with her hands, with a smile on her face while looking right in his eyes, as he stares right back at her. The caption says it "was the clap heard round the world." The look on Pelosi's face is flirtatious. They seem to be sharing a secret. It evokes little reaction in me other than one of "Hey guys, get a room and spare us." Like I said, a downright creepy photo. I almost stopped scrolling through them right then.

To be fair, most of the photos are stunning and do a great job of capturing the emotion of the people depicted in them (mostly despair and sadness with some anger thrown in). Some have outstanding outdoor scenery or expertly capture beautiful indoor spaces.

Others seem to be included because they depict women -- gender was a major theme in events this past year.

But one or two seem blurry or out of focus to me. Maybe I just don't appreciate artistry. But look at this one of Greta Thunberg which is taken at such a distance I can barely make out the expression on her face. And this one with a miniature Donald Trump yes, en route to another campaign rally. The only interesting thing about it is the balding reporter who is looking away from Trump with an odd expression on his face. I can't tell if he's freaked out by something he sees or he is looking for an escapte route, or expecting someone terrible to arrive from that direction. I don't get the value of this photo. How is it possibly one of the top 116 photos for 2019?

In short, what all but a handful of the 116 photos depict is how angry and sad everyone seems to be -- from protesters around the world to the victims of oppressive governments, war, hurricanes and fires and terrorist groups.

Except for a few sports photos, what is lacking in this year's photo collection is any sense of joy, anywhere in the world.

How sad.

I also think joy has disappeared from our everyday lives. With the news, we have a choice: either watch or listen to his wacko pronouncements when we wake up and set our day off on the wrong foot, or at dinner, giving us indigestion, or before bed, increasing the risk of nightmares.

Aside from the news, I've noticed locally that people seem to be acting out their anger -- especially behind the wheel. Drivers seem more angry and aggressive when there's a traffic jam. Even in the grocery store parking lot, if they have to wait for 30 seconds while the car in front of them stops to let a car pull out of a parking space so they can pull in, as soon as the car in front pulls into the space, they pound their foot on the gas pedal and floor it, tires screeching as they move forward.

On local heavily trafficked streets when the going gets slow or crawls to a stop, there's a lot more sudden, jerky lane changes, cutting off of other drivers or practically crawling on the bumper of the car in front of them every time the cars in their lane move ahead a few inches. It's very disconcerting -- and scary when there's ice on the road.

I think Donald Trump is the cause. While he has had very little real practical effect in terms of policy (with most of his dangerous policy changes tied up in court) he has imperiled us in other ways. With him or his surrogates in charge, almost every day the country seems like a rudderless ship, veering in opposite directions with sudden jolts. And he has diminished our standing in the eyes of the world's leaders, making us a laughing stock around the world. As a result, everybody's anxious, no one feels protected and we all fear that Trump could cause an international disaster at any moment.

Even Trump's staff is scared, according to the media -- supposedly for their jobs, but I think it's more a sense of terror at Trump's volatility and unpredictability. They show up for work every day dreading his demands and about-faces on policy that reek of his lack of experience and worse, his lack of ability to understand important topics -- or learn about them from any source other than Fox News.

What we need to re-create despite Donald Trump is the feeling of joy. I think, like the Grinch he is, he stole it from us. And I want it back.

Well that's what is on my mind with respect to Donald Trump and the state of our country today. What's on yours?