Just in case I don't get back here tomorrow, I'd like to wish all my visitors a happy '02. Hell, I'll even go for a happy year for those who don't click onto this site. I happen to think that economy I just mentioned is — and for a long time, has been — much worse than the traditional indicators would seem to indicate. This is anecdotal, I know, but I certainly feel like folks are more uneasy and depressed than what is measured by the Dow Jones or various "misery indices." In fact, I think a lot of the emotion surrounding the big news items of the last few years — O.J., 9/11, the Florida recount, Mr. Condit, various Clinton scandals and pseudo-scandals, etc. — flows from a general, excessive uneasiness that people have about their lives and futures. At the moment, a lot of folks seem to think that all will be right with the world in every way if only Osama could be properly tortured and killed and maybe tortured some more after that. This is not to suggest he probably doesn't deserve all that, but it ain't healthy for us to invest so much of ourselves in the elimination of one particular demon. There will be plenty after he's toast.
I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. I think that if you really and truly want to stop smoking or drinking or eating Crisco, you can quit on August 9 or March 22. But there's also nothing wrong with everyone picking 1/1/02 as the date they began trying to keep our problems in enough perspective to eliminate them. Cheers!