We have heard about it ad nauseam: the year 2000! What willY2K bring? And, what is the meaning of all this commotionabout the year 2000?

The year two thousand'ssignificance is the topic of much-planned celebration. DisneyWorld and many other resorts have been booked for years forthe celebration. Champagne is the hottest item on the marketwith not enough for the projected demand. Because goodchampagne takes two years to make, champagne companies can donothing except sell what they have. I have even heard aboutpeople planning to rent the Concorde jet to fly around theworld and celebrate the so-called millennium 24times.

With all this hype, I have only heard a fewpeople mention that the year 2000 is not, in fact, thebeginning of the new millennium. When the clock strikesmidnight this New Year's Eve, it will begin the first day ofthe year 2000. The last day of our present millennium isactually December 31, 2000 and thus the beginning of the newmillennium is January 1, 2001.

Yet, everyone is jumpingon the new millennium idea. Advertisers have not missed anopportunity to cash in. There are millennium cruises and,perhaps the worst advertising ploy so far, a Boston-basedradio station's offer of a hotel room on a predetermined nightfor couples with the hope they conceive the millennium baby.From this outlandish contest, the station knew it would gainpublicity, which ultimately means money.

Then there arethose who see the year 2000 as the end. They predict theseverity of a nuclear holocaust and are building bunkers withsupplies of water and canned goods. They see banks closing andeconomic collapse.

People are more paranoid-strickenwith the Y2K problem than they are concerned about importantcurrent events, including the bloodshed in East Timor and thefact that up until recently the United Nations has backed theIndonesian government and not taken action to prevent massmurder. Or the fact that leading Republican presidentialcandidate George W. Bush has yet to campaign to the commonperson, but instead sells his pitch to big businesses which inturn contribute to his campaign and label him thefront-runner. These are just a couple of examples of pressingissues I fear are ignored by the media in favor of the newmillennium.

Now, honestly no one knows exactly what (ifanything) will happen when the ball drops on December 31, butlet's be realistic. Let us not predict the next stock marketcrash and the next Great Depression. If we all staylevel-headed and don't get caught up in millennium madness, Ithink the whole celebration will be a lot more enjoyable,whenever it is.