Hey don't trash my hometown (soon to be a minor megacity) Bob--the sidewalks and half the lights are now on till at least 9 on weekends.

But I don't think I could handle the excitement of an Ottawa Saturday night any more.

As for certain other whiners out there, I would love to be making enough money to complain about Revenue Canada. I have to choose between paying bills and buying Christmas presents for my kids and it ain't because my income taxes are too high, sob, sniff. But I don't have to borrow money to get them health care.

But I think most of the alleged 63% who "hope" to make whoopee on the cusp of the millennium are, um, teenage boys. And/or the phrase "personal fireworks" has been misinterpreted--in Canadianese, it means "fireworks you buy at the store and shoot off for a bunch of your friends who pretend to be impressed", not any clever sexual allegory.

Bill