Half-full glass

In keeping with advice I get frequently to remain optimistic, I offer this glass-half-full look at 2009:

- Barack Obama is still healthy and still President; the war in Afghanistan is not yet lost and members of Congress are not yet beating each other over the head with canes;

- I'm still here, which was by no means guaranteed six months ago;

- New York State has yet to default on paying any of its bills. Many members of the Legislature have yet to be indicted for any serious crime;

- Most banks are still open, the stock market is functioning, and the Chinese and the rest of our creditors are still willing to let us borrow more money;

- While scores of newspapers have gone out of business, most are still publishing daily, and although 40,000 newspaper jobs were eliminated, hundreds of thousands of other people are still drawing paychecks from publishers;

- Social Security is not yet bankrupt, allowing people like me to collect disability payments;

- The Red Sox and Patriots both made the playoffs;

- There are not yet any restrictions on who publishes what on the Internet, meaning an old newspaper guy can post his daily musings that some people actually read.

Now that I've fulfilled my "optimistic'' duties, may I fervently wish you a Happy New Year that is better than the 12 months that are about to elapse.