We have uniformly rejected all letters and declined all discussion upon the question of when the present century ends, as it is one of the most absurd that can engage the public attention, and we are astonished to find it has been the subject of so much dispute, since it appears plain. The present century will not terminate till January 1, 1801, unless it can be made out that 99 are 100. . . It is a silly, childish discussion, and only exposes the want of brains of those who maintain a contrary opinion to that we have stated. ---The Times (London), 1799.

Washington Post, December 31, 1899:" But what are to be the miracles of the twentieth century? What is there left to discover? How much farther can the mind of man penetrate into the mysteries of nature and make secret forces obey his will?"

Gail Collins looks backward.

I know it's not the Millenium, not really. But there is something wonderful about all those zeros. Some years ago Rich timed it just right so he could drive the van into the driveway just as we went over 100,000. Odometers are fascinating.

A Washington Post article talked about terrorism beginning and ending the century, but chose the assassination of archduke Ferdinand (My brother taught me that was "Serbia", a place I'd never heard of) as the start of it. That's too late, I think of McKinley's assassination instead.

I doubt it's the end (not so far in Japan or New Zealand, it isn't.) Since the Y1K folk were making contracts and behaving normally, one must assume they were no more convinced the world's end was near than we are.

I like Diane's Top Ten Lists.

For me? A pretty good year overall. I saw 29 movies, with my favorites being Sixth Sense and Toy Story 2. I read 125 books. I'd say the John Harvey mysteries were my favorites. Overall I got rid of 25 books. At this rate, I'll be even in 34 years. (It was closer to 66 years till I panicked three days ago.)

Of my wishes (in my paper diary) for 1999, we did pretty well. I wished for health, and Rich stymied that, but in the long run, he's better, and appreciates it. My left shoulder is pretty-well healed, even to the point I can raise my arm about 4 inches higher than last year. My right started up, and is slowly improving. It still wakes me up most nights. We did have a lot of fun travelling and helping with RailFair, etc. My wishes for the kids also worked out pretty well. Roni got married. Vince got into grad school. Bernadette graduated. She expanded on it, and got engaged, too. I'd hoped King William's sorry rear end was back in Arkansas, oh well. Obviously his FBI files give him leverage. I think the whole sordid truth will eventually come out. He plans to speechify the New Year in. I won't be listening.
Also last year, I thought someone was well out of my life, but unfortunately, this person is back. Some people don't understand "no way in Hell" as an answer.

Of my goals, I lost 5 pounds. (Still 14 to go. It should be possible... I started gaining again in November.) I didn't walk as much as I wanted to, and next year I plan to go 1000 miles at least, and will keep a running total as we go along. The magazines are running us out of the house. The back room is a disaster. I also plan this year to get the wedding album and the graduation one in order, and to do my passport paperwork. I have hopes to go to two family reunions and also to visit Vince in Indiana, seeing some other interesting sights along the way. I'm going to start rereading the Duran history series, at least 5 pages a day, another thing to keep track of on the journal page. (I did this some years ago, and read 2.5 of the books before getting sidetracked. No sidetracks this time.) I also want to sort my bookmarks and tidy up my mailfiles. With any luck. I have filed my inbox, anyway.

The kittens were a pleasant surprise this year.

I miss my Mom. When I was Sam's age, I was figuring out how old I would be this mostly-imaginary day, and how old my Mom would be (84) and we made plans. Sigh.

I don't much like my double chin in this, but note the cats.

Finally, from yesterday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

          Mortality Knocks 

          To the Editor: 

          For almost everyone alive today, all one's remembered 
          years have been spent within the 1900's. My father, 
          born in 1899, had no recollection of the 19th century. 
          My granddaughter, born in 1996, will have only the
          faintest memories, if any, of the 20th. For her, the 
          transition from 1996 to 2000 will not mean "growing old." 

          But for those of us born before mid-century, each passing 
          year -- up till now -- merely went from 19-this to 19-that: 
          a smooth, almost imperceptible passage of time. For us, 
          2000 will come as a jolt, a rude reminder that we are indeed 
          getting on in years. Our big worry will not so much be "Will 
          my computer still function past Y2K?" but "Will I still
          function past Y2K?" 

          MICHAEL H. STONE , M.D. 
          New York, Dec. 20, 1999 

This is The End. Happy New Year, everyone.