Oh, journalists are actually a sort of well-behaved lot these days, dammit. My first boss, 20 years ago, always kept a fifth of Scotch in his desk drawer and would dramatically bring it out and set it on his desk at the drop of a hat. He had milk and vodka for breakfast, but was a terrific editor.

In my first newsroom we could smoke at our desks, and I thought that was an important part of looking like a journalist, so I did -- until I emptied the ash tray into the trash can and was in the middle of an interview when flames leaped up from under the desk.

Nowadays, it's double lattes at 4 p.m. to get us through the late deadlines. And I actually meet a couple of fellow journalists at the gym in the mornings at 6:30. Not like the old days, nosirreebob...

But for the millennium, maybe I"ll actually order some bubbly for the gang. We ought to get something for working while the entire rest of the world is wearing funny hats and playing with noisemakers.

ww