0578 - Onward!

So. Here we are again at the end of a year, with only the unknown future ahead. This week, the entire Staff here has been busy trying to organize the previous 577 OOs into some sort of order. This task is in response to a Very Loyal Reader [a VLR – quite a high station] who wanted either a printed book or a CD with all the columns on it. We had, of course, saved all the columns, but because of the peculiarities of the Windows operating system, they weren't in good chronological order, and besides, needed to be saved in Adobe .pdf format for those who don't have WordPerfect on their computers. It is a surprisingly tough job (particularly changing all to standard margins) but there is progress. Now, in the course of this task, we started with Year One (mid 1993) and got to re-read all the old columns. Pretty amusing stuff, we'd say, modestly (our hallmark).

The first couple of years reflect the older, and similar, yet changing, Anguilla. There are the much-loved old complaints: that terrible airport at San Juan [now still worse]; the bureaucratic Government procedures [almost all unchanged]; the state of the roads here [ditto]; the goat population [now actually shrinking, we believe without a formal caprine (goat-like) census]; and the many charms of Anguilla living. In the earliest years we spent a lot of time explaining the state of affairs here to Readers, but by now we assume you know what it's like. Also in early times, we worried a great deal about the future of Anguilla, and whether it would become just another suburb. Now, our fears have lessened, as we have seen such changes as have come to pass.

In a dozen years and more, there have been fancy new grocery stores, many a new restaurant, and a surprising number of expensive six-bedroom rental villas created. Yet, yet, when we visited the fine new Roy's Bayside restaurant recently, not only was the food good and familiar, but Lo! there was Roy in person. So also, even the fanciergroceries still run out of, say, Kleenex™, thus echoing many memories.

Here at The Objective Observatory, there are subtle changes, too. With our increased responsibilities, the rôle of the Staff has increased, and many tasks have been delegated, to the Revered Investment Guru (R.I.G.), to the Chief Proofreader, to our Ethicist, and to our fine Research Assistants. Some years back, the column disappeared from The Light, an Anguilla weekly severely feeling the loss. But, with an all e-mail audience, we have more political freedom, within reason of course, of course.

Although it's that time, we shall offer no Resolutions this year. CNN reports that as usual, the most popular Resolution is to diet. But, the R.I.G. tells us that a new drug is in test that suppresses the Cannabis Receptors (we kid you not) and will make you eat less, stop smoking, and the Good Lord knows what else. [Quite the investment opportunity, perhaps.] Instead, we use the space for an offer to our Loyal Readership:

* * * * NOTICE! ****

If you wish to obtain a CD with all 578 OO columns on it, in Adobe format, with the needed Reader (gratis from Adobe), please e-mail the OO at: theoo@anguillanet.com. If there are those who want multiple copies (like, say, 500), we shall have to outsource, and there will be a small charge to defray burning and shipping. If you want them printed in a book, and think a publisher would be interested, find one and earn an agent's commission. And Happiest New Year from the OO and the entire Staff! ***

Next time: Designators [OO #579]

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