Last night was the 20th anniversary of First Night Virginia in Charlottesville, hosting 20 venues with possibly 8,000 people in attendance (Reed Williams, The Daily Progress, January 1, 2002).

Were you out on New Year's Eve or did you, like many other Americans, stay home?

Gertie and Uncle Sam

Had you visited Charlottesville's Downtown Mall, you might have met a "12-foot-tall juggler clad in red, white and blue or [a] white-faced woman, also on stilts who danced, cheered and played 'Twinkle Twinkle Litte Star' on a recorder" (Reed Williams, The Daily Progress, January 1, 2002).

Wizards, Uncle Sam, and Stars and Bars	Osama bin Laden and Aliens from Outer Space

And you would have had your choice of hats to wear, ranging from the Stars and Stripes or Stars and Bars to Wizards, Space Aliens and Osama bin Laden.

If you were not watching the shows, you might have braved the wintry weather and revelled in the cold, like Alex Davis above, or hung out indoors where it was warm.

Denise Zito and David Slezak

Were you out last night or did you stay home? Do you have any predictions for the top ten news stories coming up in 2002?

Please send your thoughts to george@loper.org where the most representative comments will be placed on my web site with full attribution.