End of the "Uh Oh's", Happy 2010!!!!!

It seems like someone tries to label a decade with a name. Looking back, I like columnist Leonard Pitts phrase, the "Uh Oh's". It seemed like every major event could have been explained with an "uh oh".

We lived through major events like 9/11 and Katrina. We continue to fight two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We suffered (ing) through two recessions resulting from meltdowns of an internet and real estate bubble. Politics has become a bloodsport. Each event brings America to examine itself and it's role in the world.

Like or not some of the innovations of the decade include this one called blogging, Youtube and social media. The US elected an African-American as president despite our past. I think we will be better for it.

The decade started off with democracy being tested in the 2000 presidential election and ended with the media trying to tame a "Tiger".

Locally, manufacturing may have waved goodbye forever with the closings of Paper Magic and Fleetwood and Paxinos. The Big Three Auto industry and their local dealers are hanging by a thread.

What will the next decade bring? Hard to say. Locally, we may become more of an energy provider in one way or another. Joe Paterno will probably not be coaching PSU in 2019. Hopefully, the BCS will be gone. Dental problems will be abundant with many plans eliminating dental coverage all together. You could also say the same thing for vision plans.

One thing I would like to see is more neighboring municipalities merge. Often local elections are going unchallenged due to declining populations and apathy. Mergers only make sense and hopefully the state could provide some incentive.

In 2009, Harry Kalas, Walter Conkrite, Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson all moved on and will all be missed in one way or another. I had the pleasure of meeting Kalas once. When he announced birthday's and anniversary's at the beginning of a broadcast it sounded like he lived next door or was your life long friend.

Say goodbye to the "Uh-Oh's" and 2009........these 3 things always seem to be the center of attention and whatever happened to Y2K?