Year-end greetings to you all!

Here we are, about to leave 2001 behind. Where are the spaceships? Where's HAL--he's supposed to be annoying us with that monotone chatter of his? Where's the orbiting Hilton and the moon bases? Well, I guess we'll have to wait a while longer for our own space odyssey to begin. Until then, there's plenty to look back upon--but first, a word from our sponsor...

The entries for week seven set a record for sheer quantity, I do believe. Guess ol' Fat Cat draws a crowd ;-) It was really hard making a choice, but in the end I chose--another tie. Johnny B and KS, congratulations! Next week's is up, and it's back to Gadget, gang. She doesn't look too happy--I wonder what the problem is? The captions are starting to pile up now, so I think I'm going to start putting them under links by the month, to make it easier to see new caption photos.

Okay, now back to your regularly scheduled mayhem...

This has been a year to remember, for sure. Our very way of life changed on that fateful day in September. War never changes, nor its effects, and as a student of history I am pulled back to Lincoln's second inaugural address, 37 days before the end of the Civil War--

"...With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan, to do all which way achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."

Such is the spirit we must have, going into a year that will likely lead to more war and conflict. Let the fighting be done to bring peace, and let us all remember those who fought--in uniform and out of uniform--and especially those on the airplanes who fought back and gave their lives to save others. They are due the highest praise and honor, because they were called upon to act, without warning.

Among our own community, it's certainly been an eventful year. We've moved and moved again, and now we have our own little oasis in the ether where Rangerphiles around the world can gather. That alone is enough to be thankful for, but we've had quite a number of new Rangerphiles join the group this year. Our community is a varied and strong one, and I hope that this next year brings even more people who love the Rangers to Rangerphile world headquarters.

This year will also be remembered for the first Ranger voice actor to pass on. Deborah Walley will always be remembered by us as a kind person who didn't mind speaking to us Rangerphiles. I still remember the thrill of it when she posted on the old Cafe. The world will remember her as Gidget and a few other roles, but here we'll remember her as Foxglove, Lahwhinie and a lady who captured the respect and love of those who knew her. Thanks, Deborah, for everything.

We've also had a good year's worth of fanfiction and Gadget pictures (well, mostly Gadget pictures, anyway :-)). To all the writers and artists, thank you. Every picture and story keeps the Rangers alive, and we can't ask any more than that. Well, a movie and a collector's DVD set would be nice...

I'm sure I could rattle on about this year, but the main thing is we made it through. We're one tough country, with a bigger heart than any adversary could imagine. Sure, we'll always have differences, but in the end we're Americans and the minute someone thinks we've gotten too big for our britches it's time to remind them of what makes this country what it is. I include our foreign members here too, for as the French newspapers said, we're all Americans. To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, where freedom reigns, there is my country.

Now, for the week that was...

Schroeder mentioned that he tried to contact Natasha Kashefipour on Monday, with no success. Thanks for trying, Schroeder, and hopefully our Grand High Page Maintainer Lady will return someday. She'll be welcome if and when she does.

Ray Jones also announced some site improvements on Monday--head on over there folks and check it out! Also, if you didn't have time to contribute to January's calender (like me, apologies), see if you can get something ready for February. This calendar is a great project, and deserves all the submissions it can get.

Dragondreamx isn't letting the dust settle under his feet, but is going ahead with another letter to Disney on behalf of our beloved Rangers. Since their television presence in the States is hanging by a proverbial thread, I think it's a good idea to keep pressing them to release the entire Disney Afternoon for general consumption.

On Wednesday, Kongo mentioned finding an old Chip 'n Dale video, "A Tale of Two Chipmunks". It's gratifying to find anything C&D-related these days. Is that the one where Pete dressed up as a gunfighter and the munks hit him with a iron frying pan and gave him the egg eyes and bacon smile?

On Friday, Ruslan reported on what he thought might be a lost episode. It wasn't--it's just an instructional safety video about fire starring Chip 'n Dale. Come on, Disney, 79 bucks for a 14-minute little video? You've got to be joshing.

And today, we have two new Rangerphiles in the fold, the best Christmas or New Year's gift we could ask for here. Fictator and Foxx, welcome aboard!

That's it first this week, folks, and come to think of it for this year. May 2002 be the best year any of us have seen, and until then remember that, in Latin, Jehovah begins with an "I"--that's my usual Indiana Jones reference, for the uninitiated. Happy New Year!