Today's Opinions

Most folks have wishes for the new year, and the staff at The Anderson News is no different.

Below, members of our staff offer their wishes for 2009, a year we all hope is better than 2008 in many ways.

Remember, we’re asking for your wishes, too. Just e-mail them to sbrock@theandersonnews.com for publication in next week’s paper.

Shannon Mason Brock, staff writer

It’s possible that a stray article or two with my byline will appear in some future edition of this newspaper, but today’s column will be the last one I write as an employee of The Anderson News.

This is my final week at the paper, as I’ve accepted a position in a different line of work and start my new job Jan. 5.

It seems impossible, but more than six years have passed since my first article was published back in August 2002. Since then, I’ve penned approximately 2,000 others.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 years ago, a little girl earned her way onto Santa's naughty list.

All she wanted for Christmas that year was a keyboard. She loved to sing and wanted to learn to play the keyboard to round out her musical talent. She put in her request to her mom, dad, aunts, uncles and even Old Saint Nick.

As the days passed by and Christmas morning grew closer, she was bursting at the seams to know if the keyboard would somehow find its way under her tree.