The year 2001 is one that few will miss. Good riddance to a year that brought the forced landing of a NAS Whidbey surveillance plane by China, the untimely death of four Oak Harbor civic leaders in a small plane crash, the souring economy, and the terror of Sept. 11 and its aftermath, including Boeing layoffs and a hard-hit tourism industry.

Many of us spent the final three months of the year worrying about more terrorist attacks, which we learned on Sept. 11 can happen anywhere at any time. Many New Year’s Eve plans were no doubt changed or canceled for fear of one more terrorism incident before year’s end.

Our military families, as always, proudly responded to their nation’s call, but it wasn’t easy on those sent away or those who stayed home to anxiously await their return. Military duty is stressful in the best of times, but during war service members and their families go beyond the call of duty to serve their nation.

The events put a damper on the holiday season and left people nation-wide in a sour mood as 2001 ended. What’s next, they wondered? There were plenty of scary scenarios, ranging from nuclear war between India and Pakistan to another regional war in the Mideast or more terrorism at home.

What we tend to overlook in frightful times is the positive side of things. America did itself proud in chasing the Taliban out of Afghanistan when many said it couldn’t be done. That troubled nation now has another chance at improving the future of its people, thanks to America. And American influence will likely help prevent Indians and Pakistanis from blowing each other up in mushroom clouds. After the crisis, perhaps they will learn to co-exist with a more stable, if not friendly, relationship, as the U.S. and Soviet Union did after the Cuban missile crisis.

Economically, the worst may be over. The stock market ended the year on a positive note and there are optimistic projections that by the middle of 2002, things will turn around and the spirit of entrepreneurship and optimism that make America great will return from its short hiatus.

At home on Whidbey Island, we will continue to live and raise our kids in one of the greatest environments on planet Earth. Due to the events in 2001, we will likely take time to appreciate a little more the gifts that each day bring.

We’re predicting a happy, prosperous 2002, both world-wide, in the U.S., and at home on Whidbey Island. It’ll be a great time to be an American, but a miserable time to be a terrorist as the FBI, CIA, and the U.S. military continue to track them down and round them up at home and around the globe.