As we end this cold December,
We are trying to remember
Facts of good and lasting worth
From our lives on Planet Earth
Showing that it is our fate
To make it great in ’98!

Disasters rush to crowd our minds—
The weather’s frosted our behinds,
Air travel’s been the worst in years,
And terrorists create their fears,
And now and then occurs a cancer
Which requires a better answer.

Still it was a happy year,
We people laugh to save our cheer
And leaven with each bit of good
The constant stress of humanhood.
The sun that bakes and snow that flurries
Keep our minds off global worries.

We’ve shared with friends the quiet pleasures:
Conversations and the treasures
Known to friends within our homes,
Some reading, writing little tomes,
And dining often very well
On finest foods the vendors sell.

We have not solved all worldly ills,
But live with them as hope instills
Belief that making our part good
Improves the worldwide neighborhood.
We’d like to think by ’99
That everything will be just fine!

Our press association stood
A century, as well it should,
And, with that landmark safely passed,
We’re working hard to shape the cast
Of the bright unfinished years
Before we give 2000 cheers.

—Millie Vickery